


After Waitress Advent

by divine_dissatisfaction



Series: After Waitress chronicles [2]
Category: Waitress - Bareilles/Nelson
Genre: F/M, Family, Father-Daughter Relationship, Female Friendship, Fluff, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-01
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:02:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 23,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21638539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/divine_dissatisfaction/pseuds/divine_dissatisfaction
Summary: Hello! So I thought this year I would try an Advent challenge of sorts; it will be After Waitress-verse, taking place in the December after the story finishes. A series of drabbles/one-shots about their life together as a lil family. It's going to be a lot of fluff, but to be honest, anything could happen (it depends on what my prompts are). I hope you enjoy what I come up with!
Relationships: Jenna Hunterson/Jim Pomatter
Series: After Waitress chronicles [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1559815
Comments: 19
Kudos: 56





	1. December 1st

December had finally arrived, crisp and frosty, bringing with it the first proper snow of the season. In the previous month, there had been the odd flurry, a brief blizzard here and there, but now that the winter had taken a firm hold, the streets were lined with drifts about three feet high. The snow was the soft, powdery kind that didn’t immediately melt away to sludge underfoot, that clung even to each individual twig of every tree.

It was also perfect for building a snowman.

Jenna and Jim, cuddled together beneath several blankets and relishing in some peace and quiet, were awoken at around half past seven in the morning by an incredibly over-excited eight-year-old, who flung herself on top of them and yelled at them to look outside.

‘It’s snowed! It’s really snowed!’ Lulu bellowed, bouncing around on her knees.

‘Lulu, really?’ was all Jenna could utter, in mild exasperation. She glanced over to Josie’s crib, to see her almost-eighteen-month-old now sat up and pouting at the ruckus.

‘Can we build a snowman, can we?’ Lulu continued, clapping her hands together.

‘The sun isn’t even up yet, Lulu,’ Jim admonished through a yawn, heaving himself into a sitting position and rubbing his eyes.

‘But _can_ we?’ the girl asked again, hopping off the bed to look out the window at the blueish gloom outside.

‘Can we have some breakfast first?’ Jenna asked her, as she got out of bed to pad over to Josie’s crib. She lifted the toddler, who had now decided she was hungry and was whimpering, into her arms and cuddled her against her chest.

‘Blueberry oatmeal?’ her elder daughter suggested hopefully, turning from the window and treating her mother to her most disarming grin.

Jenna couldn’t help but chuckle to herself at the sight of her daughter in her reindeer-decorated pyjamas, hair sticking up at odds and ends, and eyes shining.

‘I reckon we can do that,’ she agreed, moving Josie over to her hip, ‘How about you go downstairs and get the ingredients out?’

Lulu nodded briskly and ran out of the room, grabbing her bathrobe and slippers from her room before clattering down the stairs towards the kitchen.

The mother hummed quietly, planting a kiss on top of Josie’s red curls before looking over at her fiancée, who’d apparently fallen back to sleep.

‘Jim,’ she said gently, then (when that had no effect), more loudly, ‘Jim!’

The man flinched as his eyes shot open and he hit his head on the headboard.

‘I wasn’t asleep,’ he said immediately, rubbing the back of his head and grimacing.

* * *

After a good breakfast of hot oatmeal, fresh coffee (and warm milk for the girls), the family bundled themselves up and ventured outside to their small backyard. It was suitably coated with snow, and Lulu set to work right away, striding forth and collecting it in her mitten-clad hands.

Josie toddled after her, or tried to; she could barely bend her limbs on account of the several layers of woollen clothing she’d been swathed in. Jenna and Jim walked after her, taking a hand each, and helped her march awkwardly over to help her older sister.

‘We’ve gotta make the body first, okay?’ Lulu instructed the toddler slowly, showing her how she packed the snow she’d collected into something resembling a globe.

Josie gurgled in response, letting go of Jim’s hand to give the mound a firm pat.

‘That’s it!’ Lulu praised, scraping some more snow from the ground to add on top.

The parents watched as the girls worked together (Lulu doing rather more of the legwork than her sister), eventually making a large globe, almost twice Josie’s height.

‘I reckon that’s tall enough,’ Jim said, crouching down to smooth the globe until it was perfectly round.

‘Head next!’ Lulu shouted. She ran to a fresh patch of snow and gathered it up in her hands, scrunching it together into a smaller globe.

‘Just be careful your hands aren’t getting too cold, Lulu,’ Jenna told her, ‘Those mittens ain’t waterproof.’

‘They’re _fine_ , Mama,’ Lulu retorted, carefully placing the snowman’s head on top of his body.

‘Alright, well, don’t say I didn’t warn you,’ Jenna conceded, eyebrows raised.

* * *

After a little cosmetic work, a few extra handfuls of snow here and there to even him out, the snowman was finished. Lulu had found two black stones for his eyes, and Jenna had sacrificed a carrot for his nose. A red and white striped hat sat on his head, and a matching scarf wrapped around his neck.

‘All he needs now is a smile,’ Lulu observed, stepping forward and pressing little pebbles into a curve under his carrot nose.

When she’d finished, the eight-year-old stepped back to survey her handiwork.

‘I gotta say, that’s a real good snowman,’ Jenna said, picking up Josie and holding her on one hip.

‘Sow!’ the toddler shouted, pointing at their creation and grinning.

‘That’s right, girl! _Snow_ ,’ Jenna agreed, kissing her flushed cheek.

‘Mama, my hands are cold,’ Lulu said quietly, turning around and holding her hands in front of her limply. She sniffed.

‘Well, you know what’s best for cold hands?’ Jenna said, deciding against a perfunctory “I told you so”.

‘Hot chocolate?’ her eldest daughter suggested hopefully.

Jenna nodded.

‘With mini marshmallows and cream?’

The mother laughed.

‘I reckon so.’

And with that, the family trudged back inside to look at their snowman through the kitchen window. While Jenna heated milk on the stove for their hot chocolates, Jim took the girls through to the living room to get warmed up by the fire.

She glanced out the window again as she prepared each mug of hot chocolate, with a little sippy-cup for Josie, and saw that the skies had darkened with the onset of more snow. As the first few flakes began to fall, she smiled and gazed down at her engagement ring where it sparkled on her finger.

‘Looks like we’ll have enough snow to make you a wife tomorrow, Mr Snowman,’ she whispered, before placing each hot chocolate onto a tray and carrying them through to her family in the living room.


	2. December 2nd

Usually, Mondays at _Lulu & Jo’s Pies_ were manic, with a ceaseless stream of customers trundling in and out of the diner in search of hot coffee and fresh slices of apple and cinnamon pie. Today, though, business was rather slower than usual, due in no small part to the inclement weather. There’d been no new snowfall since the previous day, but the snow that had fallen hadn’t really gone anywhere. Some customers braved the cold to come to the diner on foot, but a large portion of them tended to dive in on their way to work in their cars, and due to many of the roads being closed off, they apparently had decided against it.

A lull in customers at around three o’clock found Jenna glancing at her phone. Nellie had sent a new message to their work WhatsApp group (she didn’t work on Mondays as her college classes clashed). Keeping her phone discreetly tucked beneath the counter, she opened the message up.

_We’re parents!_

Jenna’s eyebrows shot up. But before she could question what exactly Nellie meant by that statement, a photo pinged through. It was a photo of Nellie, sat on her couch looking delighted, with a tiny, tabby kitten curled up in her lap.

Jenna heaved a sigh of relief, then typed out a reply.

 _That’s great, Nellie. What a cutie!_

_Thanks, Jenna. We’re gonna call her Muffin!_

_Seems fitting_ _😊_

_Do you want to bring Lulu round to meet her?_

_Oh, sure, she’d love that. We’ll come round about 5.30?_

Jenna didn’t have time to see Nellie’s response as the bell on the door rang, and another customer hurried inside, stamping their snow-covered boots on the welcome mat and visibly shivering. Quickly, Jenna tucked her phone into her back pocket and walked to greet them, armed with a freshly-brewed pot of coffee and a particularly large slice of pie.

* * *

To say that Lulu was excited to meet Muffin the kitten was something of an understatement. She and Jenna were sat in Nellie’s front room, next to each other on her small sofa, with hands wrapped around large mugs of hot chocolate. The eight-year-old was trying to sip her drink, but with the way her legs were jiggling with anticipation, she wasn’t having much success.

‘Lulu, you’re going to get chocolate on your pants,’ Jenna said firmly, ‘Keep still.’

‘But I want to meet her,’ Lulu whined.

‘Well, here she is!’ Nellie said as she came into the room, cradling the kitten in question in her arms, ‘She was hiding underneath the table in the kitchen. She’s a little nervous.’

Lulu grinned, giving her abandoned mug of hot chocolate to her mother and clapping her hands together.

‘You wanna come take a look?’ Nellie asked the girl, smiling at her.

The eight-year-old nodded, standing up and padding over to the older girl and peering down at the kitten, who blinked back at her with wide, amber eyes.

‘Can I stroke her?’ she asked.

‘Sure, but be very gentle,’ Nellie instructed.

Lulu stroked one index finger over the back of the kitten’s head, watching as her eyes squeezed shut a little.

‘She’s so cute,’ Lulu whispered, utterly smitten.

‘You wanna hold her?’ Nellie asked.

The younger girl nodded emphatically. ‘Can I?’

‘Sure! She might wriggle a little, but hold her right against your chest and she’ll settle.’

Nellie carefully placed the kitten into Lulu’s hands and watched as the girl did as she said. The kitten shifted a little but curled up, closing her eyes and purring quietly.

‘Ah, she likes you, Lulu,’ Nellie said warmly.

The girl carefully carried the kitten back over to sit down next to her mother, letting her curl up in her lap.

‘She’s very sweet,’ Jenna agreed, reaching down to stroke a finger between the kitten’s ears, ‘Where did she come from?’

‘A friend of mine’s cat had a litter a couple of months ago,’ Nellie explained, ‘Tom and I wanted to get a pet for ages, so it just felt kind of perfect.’

Jenna nodded, smiling, and glanced at the richly-decorated Christmas tree in the corner of the room. ‘I see you’ve got your tree up already, that’s real organised.’

‘Yep, we always get it up on December 1st,’ Nellie said, walking toward the tree and crouching down to straighten a couple of the baubles, ‘We’ve also discovered that Muffin _loves_ to play with the decorations, so it’s probably a good job we got it up before we brought her home.’

Lulu laughed, scooping Muffin back into her arms and walking over to join Nellie by the tree. She held the kitten in front of her, watching as she batted at a silver bell hung on one branch, making it ring.

‘It seems she’s got quite the personality,’ Jenna observed, chuckling.

‘She sure does,’ Nellie agreed, ‘But that’s why we picked her.’

‘I _love_ her,’ Lulu sighed happily, setting Muffin down on the ground and stroking her back, watching as the kitten arched upwards, sticking her little tail straight up in the air and lifting her head.

‘Looks like the feeling’s mutual,’ Nellie said.

‘Mama?’

‘Lulu, we are not getting a kitten,’ Jenna said firmly.

‘Oh,’ the child groaned, pouting.


	3. December 3rd

On Tuesday evening, the family were all sat in front of the television. The girls were sat together on the floor, colouring, and Jenna and Jim were sat together on the sofa.

It had been a rather slow week so far, with the snow still showing no signs of going anywhere. Business in the diner had been steady but rather more sparse than usual, which gave Jenna plenty of time to focus on how tired she was (a luxury not always afforded to her). She sat now, with her legs draped across Jim’s lap, leaning her head in her hand and fighting to keep her eyes open.

‘How about this one?’ Jim asked her, leaning over to show her a photo on his cell.

Jenna peered at it. The photo was of the interior of a grandiose wedding venue, richly decorated with seasonally-appropriate trimmings. The polished hallway was lined with silver Christmas trees, swathed in twinkling lights and shining baubles. In tall, engraved metal pots sat large, sparkly floral arrangements, with spirals of red tinsel peeking out between each long stem.

‘Wow,’ Jenna uttered, sitting up a little straighter, ‘That looks lovely.’

‘Yeah?’

‘And also way out of our price range,’ she finished, pursing her lips.

Jim sighed.

‘It’s not actually as much as you’d think,’ he tried, flicking through the gallery of photos in attempt to pique Jenna’s interest, ‘And besides…’

‘Hmm?’

‘Well, you know my parents have offered to contribute.’

Jenna winced.

‘You know how I feel about that, Jim.’

‘I do, and I’m not going to push it. I just don’t want you to rule something out completely because of the cost.’

She nodded, giving him a small smile.

Mary and James Pomatter had indeed offered to contribute to the costs of the wedding. Jenna had been a little surprised at first; although her prospective in-laws had certainly warmed to her considerably over the time they’d gotten to know her, she hadn’t expected them to be quite so generous.

But she felt uncomfortable in accepting what she felt was charity. In spite of herself, she was a proud woman.

The pair had visited a couple of venues so far, when their schedules allowed, but nothing had really grabbed them. They’d gone to barns which had certainly delivered in the aesthetics department, but lacked space. They’d gone to grander halls, which had almost too _much_ space. But the cost was always what Jenna considered first; money was always an issue when you were used to not having a great deal of it.

‘Where is it?’ she asked now, taking Jim’s cell from him to look through the photos again.

‘About thirty minutes down the road from here, right out in the woodland.’

Jenna nodded, flicking through the photos again and again. She took in images of lush, green forest, and streams. There was a large, paved driveway, and perfectly manicured gardens around the back, for the children to play in. The building itself was a grand manor house, like something out of a British costume drama, with tall pillars out the front and gleaming windows. She had to admit, it looked pretty perfect.

‘Maybe we could take a look,’ she conceded eventually, handing the cell back to Jim.

‘Great! I’ve booked us in for a viewing on Sunday, at two o’clock,’ her fiancée replied brightly, kissing her hand.

Jenna scoffed.

‘What would you have done if I hadn’t wanted to see it?’ she asked, eyebrows raised.

‘Um. I guess I didn’t get that far in the plan,’ Jim admitted with a chuckle.

The pair were interrupted by a sudden disturbance coming from the carpet. Alarmed, they looked down to see their older daughter stood up in indignance, with their younger daughter still sat on the floor, sucking on her pacifier and looking the picture of wounded innocence.

‘Mama!’ Lulu yelled, ‘Josie scribbled on my picture!’

‘Oh, dear,’ Jenna said, lifting her legs out of Jim’s lap so she could sit up properly, ‘Let me see.’

Lulu padded towards her with her drawing held out in front of her, scowling.

‘Josie,’ Jim scolded gently, getting up off the sofa and walking towards the toddler, ‘You draw on your own picture, not Lulu’s. That was our deal.’

The eighteen-month-old blinked back at him with her blue eyes, picking up her own artwork and thrusting it under her father’s nose. Jim held it in his hands and saw that she’d practically filled the entire page with squiggles of every colour on the spectrum.

‘You ran out of space, huh?’ he guessed, picking up a blank sheet of paper from the coffee table and handing it to the child, ‘Here you go.’

‘Fanks,’ Josie said, giving him a toothy grin.

Jim stroked his daughter’s head and stood up.

‘It’s _ruined_ ,’ groaned Lulu, as if the world was ending.

‘Lulu Nelson, there’s the tiniest little dot in the top corner,’ Jenna said, pointing to the mark in question with her index finger, ‘It’s hardly ruined. Josie just wanted to add her mark on it, you see?’

‘You _always_ take her side,’ Lulu grumbled, folding her arms.

‘That’s not true, and you know it,’ her mother argued, also folding her arms, ‘Now go and colour nicely with your sister, or you can put everything away.’

The eight-year-old huffed, but did as she was told. She sat back down cross-legged on the carpet, and reached for another sheet of paper.

‘Josie, give Lulu a cuddle,’ Jenna told her younger daughter.

The toddler scooted over to her older sister on her padded behind and wrapped both arms around her middle.

‘That’s it,’ praised Jim, moving back to sit next to Jenna on the sofa, ‘Now say “sorry, Lulu”.’

‘Sowwy, Wuwu,’ babbled Josie.

‘It’s okay,’ Lulu said with a sigh, patting her sister on her head.

The parents watched as the girls eventually settled back into their colouring, each keeping firmly to their own work this time around. Lulu brought her paper right up to her chest, tucking her knees up behind it to keep it out of harm’s way. A little standoffish, perhaps, but it was better than squabbling. Jenna and Jim leant back on the sofa, satisfied that peace had been restored, and snuggled up against one another.

‘I was thinking we could decorate the tree this weekend,’ Jenna suggested, fiddling with a loose thread on Jim’s sleeve.

‘Yeah, good idea,’ he agreed, before suggesting smugly, ‘Sunday? After our super successful trip to visit the venue, of course.’

Jenna rolled her eyes, but decided to humour him, ‘That’s right.’


	4. December 4th

The next day, the snow had thawed a little, which came as a welcome relief to Jenna. With the roads finally clear, the commuting patrons re-appeared in the diner in search of their morning coffees, and the four waitresses were rushed off their feet. Neither of them had any time to do anything apart from take orders, brew coffee, slice up pies, and box up take-out orders.

Jenna much preferred it this way, though. Aside from the simple fact that busy-ness meant business, there was something comforting about seeing the diner bustling with people of all ages, humming as they laughed and chattered about their lives. They were a family, in a way, particularly those of them who’d been patrons even when the diner was still called _Joe’s Pie Diner_. They’d watched Lulu grow up, from when she’d been a babe in arms, to toddling between the tables behind her mother, and ever since.

‘What a day,’ Dawn said on a sigh, at around a quarter to four, ‘I feel like I’ve barely stopped.’

‘Is it really only Wednesday?’ Becky said in agreement, rolling her shoulders back.

The three of them, including Jenna, were taking refuge behind the counter. The diner always tended to quieten down at this time of the day, and the opportunity to take a break was particularly welcome today.

‘I feel fine!’ contributed Nellie brightly, walking over to them with two trays in each hand.

‘You’ve got youth on your side,’ Becky said dramatically, ‘Unlike us old women.’

‘Speak for yourself,’ Jenna quipped, raising an eyebrow, ‘You both need to find some energy from somewhere; it’s my early finish today, remember?’

‘Ah yeah, Lulu’s rehearsal,’ Becky said, nodding.

‘Mm-hmm. I really need to get going actually, they’re finished at four.’

Lulu had been granted the part of the Angel Gabriel in her second grade nativity play. She was taking it all very seriously, practising her lines ad nauseam whenever she could. Jenna often heard her rehearsing in her bedroom, long after she should have been sleeping. Today, the children were staying after school to rehearse, and as Jim had several late appointments (most of them rescheduled ones from when the weather had prevented patients from getting to St. Joseph’s), it fell to Jenna to pick her up, and also to pick Josie up from day-care.

‘You go, Jenna, we’ll manage,’ Dawn assured her, rearranging some cranberry muffins into a perfectly symmetrical pattern on their dish.

‘Alright, I’ll see y’all tomorrow,’ Jenna said, stepping into the back to get her coat and bag.

Cal, who’d been in the kitchen clearing away some pots, stuck his head through the service window and said gruffly, ‘And tell Lulu I want her autograph.’

Jenna laughed, ‘I will.’

* * *

‘Mama, why did Angel Gabriel tell Mary what to call her baby?’

‘Hm?’

‘Well, she says “you will have a son and you will call him Jesus”. Shouldn’t Mary get to decide?’

Jenna chuckled, ‘That’s a good point, Lulu.’

The pair of them were walking arm in arm towards home. Josie was trotting along in front of them, where Jenna could keep an eye on her. The toddler was now of the age where she wanted to grab at everything, to pick everything up and look at it. She’d already handed her mother three frosted sycamore leaves, and a couple of pebbles.

‘Here y’are!’ she chirruped, handing Jenna another dried leaf.

‘Thank you, Josie,’ the mother replied with feigned enthusiasm, taking the leaf and holding it in her left hand with the others.

‘Can I practise my line again?’ Lulu asked, ‘Miss Evers says we have to practise as much as we can.’

‘Sure, hit me,’ Jenna replied, tilting her head towards her daughter slightly in order to hear her better.

Lulu cleared her throat and glanced at the floor for a moment, apparently getting into character.

‘Mary, do not be afraid. I bring good news. You will have a son, and you will call him Jesus,’ she recited nobly.

‘That was good!’ Jenna said.

‘I don’t think I’m angel-y enough,’ the eight-year-old replied glumly.

‘Of course you are!’ her mother assured her.

‘It didn’t sound right,’ Lulu argued in dismay.

‘Well,’ Jenna said, leaning behind her daughter to scrape a handful of snow from the top of a wall they were passing, ‘Maybe you just need a bit of sparkle.’

And with that, she brought the powdery snow in front of her mouth and blew on it hard, making a little cloud of sparkly flakes burst into the air and settle on Lulu’s nose.

‘Oh, _Mama_ ,’ Lulu groaned, laughing as she wiped her face.

Jenna giggled before looking over at Josie, who was starting to wander a little too close to the roadside for her liking.

‘Whoa there, Missy,’ she called out, rushing forward to scoop the toddler into her arms. As she did that, she felt a gentle thud against her back, following by a burst of giggles from Lulu. She turned around, with Josie hoisted on one hip, a look of exaggerated shock on her face.

‘Lulu Nelson,’ she began darkly, ‘Did you just throw a _snowball_ at me?’

The eight-year-old shook her head innocently, completely failing to hide her grin.

‘You’re right, you’re not angelic at all,’ Jenna said, sniffing and turning on her heel dramatically, stalking off down the street. Lulu soon caught up to her, still laughing. She tucked her arm into her mother’s, and the three of them walked all the way home like that, still giggling when they walked through the door.


	5. December 5th

It was clear that Lulu wasn’t going to let the kitten idea drop. She’d mentioned it to her mother every day since meeting Muffin on the previous Monday, making all sorts of promises about how well she’d look after it. Jim had also been pestered and nagged, and his answer had always been “It’s up to your mom”, which didn’t help matters in the slightest.

When Jenna picked her daughter up from school on Thursday, the eight-year-old ran out with a piece of paper clutched in her hand.

‘Mama, look at the writing I did!’ she yelled in lieu of a greeting, thrusting the paper under Jenna’s nose.

‘Hello, Lulu, nice to see you too,’ Jenna muttered pointedly, holding the paper further away from her face so she could read it. It was a piece of writing, in crude cursive, and she only needed to read the title to know exactly what it was about.

_My Perfect Christmas Present._

She scanned her eyes over the page, taking in the particularly emotive language and little illustrations of kittens with large eyes. At the bottom of the page, there was a drawing of a girl (Lulu, presumably) crying a literal river of tears, captioned with: “this is what I will look like on Christmas Day if I don’t get a kitten”, which really brought the whole thing home.

‘“My perfect Christmas present would be a kitten”,’ Jenna read aloud, eyebrows raised, ‘“I would really like a tabby one, but any kind of kitten would be fine. I think they are so cute.”’

The mother snuck a glance at her daughter, who was smiling blithely back at her.

‘Miss Evers said I used really _persuasive_ language,’ the girl said proudly, before pointing to a gold star sticker on her jumper, ‘She even gave me a sticker for doing good work.’

‘Hmm,’ Jenna grunted, pursing her lips, ‘You’ve worked hard on this, huh?’

The eight-year-old nodded.

‘I _really_ want a kitten, Mama,’ she added.

‘I know you do, Lulu,’ Jenna said on a sigh, handing the paper back to her, ‘I’ll think about it, alright?’

‘Yay!’ her daughter yelped, wrapped two arms fiercely around her stomach and squeezing.

* * *

Later, back at the diner, Jenna sidled up to Nellie while she boxed up slices of leftover pie, placing a gentle hand on her elbow.

‘Hi,’ she whispered.

‘Hey!’ Nellie greeted, ‘What’s up?’

‘Does your friend still have any kittens left?’

The girl grinned, ‘Lulu’s finally worn you down, huh?’

‘I said I’d _think_ about it,’ Jenna said, rolling her eyes at herself.

‘Well, as far as I know they’ve still got one left, I’ll just give them a call and check,’ Nellie said, ‘You wanna head ‘round after work with me? They live like a block away.’

‘Oh, sure, I don’t see why not,’ Jenna replied, ‘Thanks, Nellie.’

The girl nodded, smiling and turning on her heel to step into the back to make the call. Jenna scanned her eyes over the empty diner and saw her daughter in the corner, working on math homework. She was certainly a sensible kid, always had been, and Jenna knew from seeing her with Josie, and the care she took with her, that she’d be able to do this.

‘Good news!’ Nellie said, reappearing at Jenna’s side, ‘They’ve still got one left. You wanna see a photo?’

Jenna nodded, looking at Nellie’s cell to see a photo of a little ginger and white kitten, sat prettily on top of a fireplace and tilting its head for the camera.

‘They’re happy for you to come ‘round and meet him,’ Nellie continued, ‘And if you like each other, you’re free to take him as soon as it’s convenient.’

‘Okay,’ Jenna said with a smile, looking over at her daughter again, ‘Let’s just see how it goes.’

* * *

Of course, it went splendidly.

Lulu was beside herself when Jenna finally told her where they were going when they left the diner. She practically skipped the whole way there, babbling about what she was going to call the kitten, and all the games she’d play with it, and how she was going to teach it tricks (Jenna hadn’t the heart to tell her that teaching tricks to cats seldom worked).

When the kitten was finally placed in the eight-year-old’s hands, it was love at first sight. The kitten wriggled a little, before settling down against her chest, folding his little paws underneath itself and closing his eyes. The girl stroked him between his ears gently, listening to him purr.

And so it was a done deal. They were getting a kitten.

It was decided that the kitten would be taken home at the weekend, when Jenna or Jim had had time to purchase a carrying basket. They also had to buy cat food, and food bowls to put the food in, and perhaps a few toys, as well as organise a trip to the vets. It was then that Jenna fully admitted to herself why she hadn’t been immediately keen on the idea; it was going to be costly, at one of the most expensive times of year.

She found it difficult to worry too much when she saw how happy Lulu was, though. As they walked home, arm in arm, she asked her, ‘So, Lulu, have you thought of a name?’

‘Mustard,’ Lulu said thoughtfully, gazing up at the darkening sky.

‘Mustard?’ Jenna repeated, chuckling, ‘How’d you think of that name?’

‘He’s mustard-coloured,’ her daughter replied in consternation.

‘Of course, silly me,’ the mother laughed, before adding, more seriously, ‘Now, Lulu. I want you to promise you’re gonna take good care of this kitten. It’s a big responsibility.’

‘I will, Mama,’ the eight-year-old replied solemnly.

‘I know you will,’ Jenna replied, leaning over to kiss the girl on her head.


	6. December 6th

Friday night saw the staff of _Lulu and Jo’s Pies_ having their annual Christmas get-together. This year, it was taking place at the Anhorn’s house, and when Jenna and Becky got out of the cab to walk up their front path, they had to squint on account of the intense brightness of their decorations.

The house was covered in lights, twinkling aggressively against the inky sky. Their front yard was also covered in lights, with each bush shining like a beacon. There were also a pair of metal reindeer sculptures, standing guard on either side of the path. Just under the apex of the roof was hung a large wreath, with a sparkling red bow on the top of it.

‘You just get more and more decorations every year, huh?’ Jenna said to Dawn when she stepped through the door.

‘That was an assault on my eyes,’ Becky muttered, blinking rapidly.

‘Sorry, girls,’ Dawn said apologetically, ‘I think we may have overdone it this year, but Kenny loves it.’

‘I suppose it does look pretty magical when you’re three years old,’ Jenna said in agreement.

‘I hope he’s being good,’ Dawn said, looking suddenly anxious, ‘Ogie’s taken him to his mom’s house for the evening.’

Jenna nodded sympathetically. Her own children, and the cat, had been left with Jim for the evening. While she didn’t doubt his capabilities as a parent one bit, being away from them all felt a little strange. He tended to be a bit of a soft-touch with the girls, and she could only hope he’d be firm enough with them when it came to what they were eating for dinner, and when bed-time was.

‘Honestly, you mamas with your worrying,’ Becky muttered fondly, ‘Let’s just relax and have a good night, huh?’

The two mothers agreed, grinning. The trio then walked through to the dining room, to find Nellie, who stood up to give Jenna and Becky a hug each. Dawn went over to the fridge, producing a bottle of champagne. She then fetched three glasses from a cupboard on the opposite side of the room and placed everything on the counter.

‘Who’s for champagne?’ she asked the group, grimacing as she uncorked the bottle with a loud pop.

Jenna, Becky and Nellie all opted in, watching as Dawn poured each glass carefully.

‘Cal not coming tonight, then?’ Jenna asked Becky.

Her friend shook her head. ‘His exact words were “I don’t wanna die of oestrogen asphyxiation”,’ she said, mimicking Cal’s gruff tone perfectly, ‘He’s gone out with a couple of his biking friends.’

Jenna chuckled.

‘Alright,’ Dawn said, carrying the glasses over carefully, ‘Here ya go. Ogie picked this champagne, I hope it’s nice.’

‘You not having any, Dawn?’ Becky asked, taking her glass.

‘No, I am not,’ Dawn said, biting her lip against a grin, ‘I’m not supposed to.’

‘What do you mean, not _supposed_ to?’ Becky said incredulously, ‘It’s Christmas!’

‘Girls,’ the younger woman said, taking the chair next to Jenna and sitting down, ‘I’ve got some news.’

The other three exchanged looks, putting their drinks down on the table and looking at their friend expectantly.

‘I’m pregnant again,’ Dawn announced, her voice squeaking in excitement.

‘Oh, wow!’ Jenna, Becky and Nellie chorused.

‘I had my twelve-week scan today, and everything looks fine,’ Dawn said, smiling.

‘That’s amazing news, Dawn,’ Jenna said, reaching to wrap her arm around Dawn’s shoulders.

‘How did Ogie react?’ Becky asked, sipping her drink.

‘Oh, he was thrilled. A bit surprised, though. We weren’t really planning for it,’ the younger woman explained.

‘I tell ya, girl. You gotta get him to stop reciting his spontaneous poetry,’ Becky said sagely, chortling into her champagne.

‘ _Becky_!’ Dawn squeaked.

‘What does Kenny think?’ Jenna asked, steering the topic of conversation to more mature matters.

‘I’m not sure he really understands,’ Dawn admitted, ‘But he doesn’t seem _un_ happy about it.’

They were interrupted by the buzzing of Dawn’s egg timer.

‘Oh, the casserole’s ready!’ Dawn sang, getting to her feet and rushing to take it out of the oven.

* * *

When Jenna finally stumbled through the door of her house later that evening, she was relieved to find that everything was quiet. She peered into the front room and saw Mustard curled up by the embers of their log-fire, and Jim sat on the sofa, dozing. She crept inside, placing her bag by the door, and walked up to her fiancée. Then, she leant down and planted a kiss on his forehead, which startled him awake.

‘Oh, hey,’ he mumbled sleepily, ‘Did you have a good night?’

‘Yep,’ Jenna hummed, ‘Did you?’

‘We did. The girls were fine,’ Jim said, knowing exactly what she was getting at, ‘Josie was a little fussy around bed-time, but she settled down.’

‘Good,’ Jenna replied, nodding.

‘I think I’m gonna head up to bed,’ Jim said, fighting a yawn, ‘Do you need anything?’

‘No, I think I’m gonna make some peppermint tea, then I’ll head up.’

‘Okay.’

He got up, then, and kissed her, before stepping out of the room and creeping up the stairs. Jenna walked over to Mustard, gently picking him up and carrying him out of the room. He wriggled a little in her arms, apparently a little annoyed that he’d been disturbed.

‘Sorry, but your bedroom’s in _here_ ,’ Jenna whispered to him, carrying him through to the kitchen where his bed sat. It was a little patchwork cushion, given to them by Nellie’s friend, and one that Mustard seemed very comfortable with, as it had a familiar smell.

Once the kitten was curled up in his bed, Jenna made her peppermint tea, then crept up the stairs to her own.


	7. December 7th

One thing Jenna was not expecting to see when she stepped through her front door on Saturday evening was her toddler, dressed only in her diaper, with a ring of tinsel on her head.

‘Hello, Josie,’ the mother said, barely holding back a laugh, ‘You having fun?’

‘Hiya!’ the toddler replied, chewing blithely on her finger before turning to patter into the living room.

Jenna followed her daughter into the room, where she saw Jim and Lulu working together to put up their artificial Christmas tree. They were surrounded by cardboard boxes of decorations, as well as _new_ decorations, if the large paper bags were anything to go by. The kitten was curled up by the fire, looking distinctly uninterested, and the CD player in the corner was blasting out incessantly happy Christmas music. Josie was stood in the centre of the room, bobbing up and down on her little legs and waggling her hips.

‘Leddit sow!’ she yelled.

‘Hiya, Mama!’ Lulu also yelled, ‘We put up the tree!’

‘I can see that!’

‘Hey,’ Jim greeted, standing up from where he’d been crouching on the floor fiddling with the trunk of the tree, and walking over to her. He kissed her cheek, ‘How was work?’

‘Busy, thanks,’ she replied, before asking, ‘I thought we were doing all this tomorrow?’

‘Well, Lulu wanted to do it today,’ Jim began.

‘So, you’re doing it today,’ Jenna finished, pursing her lips, before motioning to her toddler, ‘Why does Josie have tinsel on her head?’

‘She was getting in the way so I made her a halo, and we put the music on,’ Lulu explained, spreading a few branches that were a little clumped together.

Jenna nodded, glancing at her watch.

‘It’s probably time she was getting ready for bed. Have you guys had dinner?’

‘Nope, it’s in the oven, we were waiting for you,’ Jim said with a smile.

‘Oh, I’m glad you were waiting for me for something,’ Jenna replied, sounding rather snappier than she’d intended.

She picked up Josie, who was still boogieing away in the middle of the carpet, and walked up stairs with her hoisted on one hip. She carried her through to their bedroom and sat her down on the bed, taking her tinsel halo off, before looking in the basket they kept for her clothes in the corner of the room. She was aware of Jim standing sheepishly in the doorway, but didn’t turn around, busying herself with picking a matching pyjama top and pair of bottoms.

‘Um, Jenna? Everything okay?’ Jim asked finally, stepping into the room.

‘Yep,’ Jenna said sharply, picking out a pair of pastel blue pyjamas and a white onesie, walking over to the bed. She put Josie at the edge of the bed and started putting the onesie on, pressing each fastener closed with a snap.

‘Are you sure?’ Jim asked again, moving up behind her and placing a hand on her shoulder.

‘I’m fine, I just – I’ve had a hard day,’ Jenna said dismissively, picking up the pyjama bottoms to put them on Josie.

‘Is that all it is?’

‘Yep. Well,’ Jenna sighed, knowing full well that he wasn’t going to be satisfied with that answer, ‘We always decorate the tree together.’

‘I know,’ Jim replied, ‘That’s why we didn’t start decorating it yet.’

‘You put the lights on it,’ Jenna muttered petulantly, buttoning up Josie’s pyjama top.

‘Well, yeah,’ Jim admitted, ‘But we left everything else.’

Jenna sighed.

‘I’m sorry you thought we were doing it without you,’ Jim said sincerely, ‘I know it’s your thing. It’s yours and Lulu’s thing.’

She turned to face him then, offering him a small smile.

‘Come on, let’s go and have dinner. I’ve got pizzas,’ Jim said, kissing her forehead and heading out of the room to go back downstairs.

Jenna turned back to Josie, who was sat blinking up at her and grinning.

‘Come on, then,’ she whispered, lifting the girl into her arms and carrying her over to her crib. She put the toddler down, stroking her curly hair, then set her mobile going. The soft tune soothed her, and she settled down, sticking a thumb in her mouth and letting her eyes flicker closed. Jenna then crept out of the room, quietly clicking the door closed after her, then padding back down the stairs towards the kitchen.

* * *

Later on, the trio all sat next to each other on the sofa, fully exhausted. The tree was now richly decorated, with swathes of sparkling tinsel and glittering baubles (placed on rather higher branches than in previous years on account of one rather curious kitten). Lulu was tucked up against her mother’s side, dozing, and Jim was sat on Jenna’s other side with his arm around her shoulders.

‘I’m sorry again,’ Jim said quietly.

‘It’s fine,’ Jenna said sincerely, ‘I shouldn’t have got so precious about it. It’s not just mine and Lulu’s thing, it’s your thing too.’

He nodded, before adding with a grin, ‘Maybe next year it can be Josie’s thing.’

‘Sure,’ Jenna agreed, smirking, ‘When she’s moved on from _wearing_ the decorations.’

The pair of them laughed and snuggled further into one another, enjoying the peace and quiet.


	8. December 8th

Jenna had been more than a little apprehensive about her and Jim’s visit to their potential wedding venue. She’d spent most of the drive there looking out of the window, twisting her hands together in her lap, and making only monosyllabic attempts at conversation.

Their venue viewing was not the only thing she was feeling nervous about. Lulu and Josie had been deposited at Dawn and Ogie’s earlier that day, and this was the first time they’d both been left with someone who wasn’t their parents. She knew they’d behave themselves, and Lulu was old enough now to help with her younger sister when required, but she still worried.

When they finally arrived at the venue, she felt like there was a heavy weight in her stomach. Jim placed a hand over hers, and said softly, ‘You ready?’

She nodded briskly.

The pair of them climbed the steps at the front of the building and were greeted by the attendant, who led them through the vast front door and down the hallway to the function room. Jenna looked around her at the decorations, somehow even grander than they’d looked in the photos.

The function room itself was large, but still cosy-feeling, with rows of straight-backed chairs on a cream-coloured carpet. At the front of the room sat the altar, and Jenna felt the weight in her stomach suddenly get even heavier.

They were led to another room down the hallway, furnished with large, circular tables which were laid with dainty cutlery and gleaming wine glasses. And on to a different room, with large velvet sofas and a cavernous fireplace. And finally, out to the gardens at the back, the grandeur of which was only added to by the snow that clung to every elegant surface.

It was the most magnificent place Jenna had ever been in, or, mostly likely, would ever be in again. She shivered slightly in the cold, standing closer to Jim, barely listening to the attendant as he spoke to them about the building.

‘So, as I said, the venue is extremely popular, particularly in the summer months. I would advise booking as soon as possible to avoid disappointment,’ the young man said.

Jim nodded, ‘It’s certainly a beautiful place. Do you think so, Jenna?’

Jenna nodded too, smiling distantly.

* * *

‘So, what did you think?’

Jenna sighed quietly, twisting her hands in her lap again.

‘I thought it was lovely,’ she said.

They were in the car home again. Before this particular exchange, Jim had spent almost ten minutes waxing poetic about how perfect the venue was. How it was spacious but didn’t feel too big, how there were little quiet spaces for people to retreat to, how the garden was perfect for the girls to run around in when they inevitably got bored.

‘It was definitely lovely,’ Jim agreed, ‘It was pretty perfect, you think?’

‘Hm.’

‘Jenna, you okay?’

‘Yeah, I’m – I’m fine.’

She heard him sigh.

‘What was wrong with it?’ he asked, placing a hand over hers.

‘There was nothing – _wrong_ with it,’ she began, a line appearing between her eyebrows, ‘It just – I don’t know. It didn’t feel like -’

‘Like… the right place?’

Jenna pursed her lips. ‘It didn’t feel like _us_ ,’ she said, finding no other way to put it.

‘Okay,’ Jim said, nodding slowly.

‘It was beautiful,’ she assured him, ‘But I was walking around scared to touch anything. I just felt like I didn’t belong there. I don’t - want to feel like that. Does that make any sense?’

‘It sounds like,’ Jim began putting both hands back on the steering wheel as he turned off the highway, ‘You’re saying you don’t deserve a palace, Jenna Nelson.’

She shrugged, offering him a thin smile. ‘It just doesn’t fit me.’

‘ _Strongly_ disagree,’ Jim said, raising his eyebrows, ‘But hey, if it wasn’t the right fit for you, then it’s not the right fit for me either.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Positive.’

‘You’re not mad?’

‘Well, I’m already marrying a queen, what do I need the palace for?’ he asked rhetorically, smirking.

She rolled her eyes at that, laughing.

‘Thanks for understanding,’ she said, more seriously.

‘No problem. We’ll find somewhere we both like.’

Jenna nodded, trying desperately to feel reassured, and got her cell out of her bag to send a message to Dawn, to tell her they were on their way back.

* * *

Before the pair of them got to the Anhorn’s house, they stopped off at a little craft store in town. At this time of the year, it was packed with tree decorations and little gingerbread goodies, and hand-embroidered Christmas stockings.

They had decided that Josie would have a stocking this year; she hadn’t had one the year before as she was only six months old and wouldn’t have known what to do with it (at the time, she probably would have put most of the contents in her mouth). The parents wandered through the store, looking at what was on offer. The only criteria was that it should have a loop for it to hang over the fireplace, and, under no circumstances, was it to be bigger than Lulu’s.

‘How about this one?’ Jim asked, holding up a red and white felt stocking, embroidered with silver snowflakes.

‘Felt isn’t that durable,’ Jenna said, twisting her mouth.

‘Right,’ Jim said, nodding, ‘No felt.’

She smiled, reaching for another stocking. This one was pale blue cotton, with a baby penguin emblazoned on the front. Sturdier material, certainly, but a little plain.

Eventually, the pair rounded on a deep red silk one, tucked away in one corner. It was the right size, with a ribbon hoop for hanging. On the front was a Christmas tree, stitching on with bright green thread and interspersed with golden sequined stars.

‘This one?’ Jim asked, picking it up.

‘It’s perfect,’ Jenna said, running her index finger over the decorations.

‘Do you think Lulu will mind not getting a new one?’ Jim asked, frowning a little.

The thought struck Jenna. Her daughter was very fond of her stocking, having had it since she was a toddler. It was a rich velvet green, with little elves scattered across it. Over the years, it had suffered a little wear and tear, so had acquired a few patches where the material had worn particularly thin. Lulu most likely wouldn’t want to get rid of it.

But she didn't want to risk it.

‘Good point,’ she conceded, ‘We’d better pick one for her, just in case.’

Jim nodded his agreement, setting about to find a suitable stocking. Over his shoulder, he suggested with a grin, ‘If she doesn’t want it, we could use it for Mustard?’

Jenna laughed at him, rolling her eyes.


	9. December 9th

By the end of Monday, Jenna was already ready for the weekend. Business was bustling, with many local businesses choosing the diner as the venue for their staff Christmas meal, and whilst that was good from a financial point-of-view, it left the manager of _Lulu and Jo’s Pies_ with a pair of sore feet, an aching back, and a headache.

When closing time eventually crawled around, Jenna all but raced out of the door as fast as her protesting feet could carry her. Her first stop was Jill’s house, where Lulu was staying for dinner. With rehearsals for the nativity play now taking place on a Monday evening too, and neither Jenna or Jim’s work schedules allowing them to pick her up afterwards, Jill had offered to take Lulu home with her and her daughter Hannah. Lulu had been thrilled with the idea, as Hannah had been her best friend since pre-school.

Jenna walked quickly up their front path, and knocked on their front door, which had a particularly luxurious-looking Christmas wreath hung on it.

‘Hi, Jenna,’ Jill said when she opened the door, ‘Come on in.’

‘Has she behaved?’ Jenna asked, scraping her shoes on their welcome mat before stepping inside the house.

‘She’s been a delight. Her and Hannah have been giving us a little preview of their play,’ Jill said brightly, leading Jenna through to their front room.

Jenna nodded, smiling as she entered the room to see the two girls sat cross-legged in the middle of the carpet, along with Hannah’s father, Henry. They were sat around a board game, deeply engrossed.

‘Hi, Lulu,’ Jenna greeted, grinning when Lulu looked up and waved at her.

‘They’re playing Clue,’ Jill explained under her breath, ‘It’s kept them quiet for an hour or so. It’s this new Christmas edition.’

‘Alright Lulu, your turn,’ Henry said, handing the eight-year-old the die.

‘I’d like to make an accusation,’ Lulu said darkly, jutting her chin out.

‘Go ahead,’ Henry encouraged, sitting back, ‘Who do you think killed Miss Scarlet?’

‘I think it was Mr Green, in the library, with the Christmas tree!’ the girl announced.

‘Interesting,’ Henry said, stroking an imaginary goatee on his chin and raising an eyebrow, making Hannah giggle, ‘See if you’re right.’

Lulu nodded, reaching for the envelope in the centre of the board and opening it. She looked at the three cards, holding them close to her chest to keep them secret. Then, she cheered and showed the cards to Henry and Hannah.

‘I got it right!’ she yelled.

‘Good job!’ Henry praised, ‘Not bad for your first time, hey?’

‘Oh, I was going to guess that on my turn,’ Hannah protested, frowning.

‘Well, Hannah, we can play another game after dinner, okay? Lulu’s got to go home now.’

‘Okay,’ the girl said glumly.

‘Come on, detective supreme,’ Jenna joked, holding her hand out for Lulu to take it as she stood up, ‘Home time.’

* * *

Later on, with both girls in bed, Jenna and Jim sat together on the sofa. Mustard the kitten was curled up in Jim’s lap, sleeping soundly, and there was some soppy Hallmark movie on the television.

Jenna felt Jim wrap his arm around her and leaned into him a little more, fighting a yawn. His hand found hers, holding it gently. He lifted her fourth finger slightly and kissed her knuckle, just above where her engagement ring sat sparkling. She caught his eye, and he smiled at her, his eyes crinkling. He moved his hand then, to press his fingertips against hers, and then his palm against her palm, fingers interlocking.

‘Happy?’ he asked her.

‘Eh, can’t complain,’ she responded, smiling coyly.

He chuckled softly, leaning in to kiss her properly. She responded in kind, leaning yet further into him and sighing. They let go of each other’s hands, arms wrapping around each other slowly as they kissed more eagerly.

After a few moments, they pulled away, their foreheads still touching.

‘I love you,’ he whispered.

‘I love you too,’ she whispered back.

And then they were kissing again, shifting so that she had one leg hooked over his lap (Mustard leapt onto the floor, mewing in disapproval). She brought her hands to the back of his head, letting a quiet moan escape her throat. His breath was hot against her skin as he moved his kisses along her jawline and down her throat. She felt a warmth on her hip as he moved his hand there, and bit her lip against a grin.

But then, the baby monitor in the corner of the room crackled into life with the sound of Josie crying.

The parents pulled away, laughing quietly as the moment dissipated.

‘Duty calls,’ Jenna muttered, recognising the cries of a baby who wanted feeding. She heaved herself to her feet reluctantly, squeezing Jim’s hand before padding out of the room and towards the kitchen. He followed her through, wrapping his arms around her from behind as she fetched one of Josie’s bottles from the fridge.

‘Have we pressed the pause button, or the stop button?’ he asked her quietly.

‘Definitely pause,’ she replied with a grin, turning in his arms to give him a quick kiss.


	10. December 10th

When Jenna got home on Tuesday evening, she was greeted with the familiar scent of baking pastry. Slinging her bag down by the door, she changed into her slippers and padded through to the kitchen. She was a little surprised to see her two daughters, the elder stood up at the kitchen table and the younger sat on top of it, rolling out pastry. Josie was perhaps taking more of a supervisory role, but had still managed to completely coat herself in flour. Where was Jim?

‘Hello, you two,’ Jenna greeted cautiously, ‘What’s going on here?’

‘We’re making mince pies, Mama!’ Lulu explained, reaching for a round pastry cutter.

‘Mince pies?’ the mother repeated with incredulity, ‘Why are you making mince pies?’

‘We learned about different Christmas food from around the world today,’ the eight-year-old explained, carefully cutting circles out of the pastry and lifting them on to a nearby baking tray, ‘And in England they have mince pies.’

‘Uh-huh,’ Jenna said, nodding, before picking up a jar of strawberry preserve from the table, ‘What’s the preserve for?’

‘Well, Miss Evers said that mince pies have this stuff called mincemeat in – but it’s not _really_ meat, it’s just a lot of fruit. So I got the preserves and added some raisins.’

‘Right. Well, that’s not quite what mincemeat is, honey. We’ve actually got a jar in the cupboard,’ Jenna paused, raising her eyebrows, before continuing, ‘Which you would have known if you’d have waited for me to come home before taking over my kitchen.’

The girl looked at her then, biting her lip, ‘Sorry, Mama.’

‘It’s alright,’ Jenna said, reaching to lift Josie into her arms, ‘I hope you at least asked Jim?’

The eight-year-old’s head immediately bowed.

‘Lulu…’

‘He’s asleep!’ Lulu protested, ‘I didn’t wanna wake him up.’

‘So you should have waited for me,’ the mother said firmly, ‘You know I don’t like you using the oven without either of us here.’

Neither of them had noticed the distinct scent of burning pastry until the oven started smoking. Immediately, Jenna put Josie down on the floor and ran over, grabbing an oven mitt and opening the oven door, wafting her hand in front of her face as she was accosted by a billow of black smoke.

‘Oh, they’ve _burnt_ ,’ Lulu said mournfully, as her mother showed her the tray of blackened pies.

Jenna couldn’t help but feel guilty as she watched her daughter’s face crumple. She knew she’d only been wanting to do something nice, and hell, she couldn’t blame the kid for wanting to experiment with pie-making.

‘Tell you what we’ll do,’ Jenna said, taking a gentler tone, ‘I’m going to take your sister to get washed up, and you’re going to tidy up. Then I’ll make us some dinner, and afterwards, we’ll bake some proper mince pies, okay?’

The girl nodded, sniffing.

Jenna stroked her head, before picking Josie back up and hoisting her up on one hip. She walked through to the living room and found Jim, sat on the sofa with his legs stretched out, his diary open on his chest, and his head tipped back as he slept.

She smiled in spite of her annoyance, and then walked up to him, shaking his shoulder. He shuddered awake and whipped his head around to look at her blearily.

‘Oh, hey, Jenna,’ he said, yawning and pressing his knuckles into his eyes. Then, as he became more and more conscious, he noticed the state of Josie, ‘Why is Josie covered in flour?’

‘The girls decided to do some baking,’ Jenna informed him, ‘Lulu said she couldn’t ask you for permission because you were sleeping.’

The man looked utterly shocked.

‘I didn’t even think I’d been asleep that long,’ he muttered apologetically, ‘It’s been such a packed few days. I’m sorry, Jenna.’

‘It’s alright. But could you go and help Lulu clear up in the kitchen?’

Jim nodded briskly, getting to his feet. She walked out of the room with him and watched him walk through to the kitchen, running a hand through his hair. Then, she pressed a kiss to Josie’s floury curls and took her upstairs to clean her up.


	11. December 11th

‘I spy, with my little eye, something beginning with “S”.’

‘Snow?’

‘Nope. Guess again.’

Jenna was walking home with the girls on Wednesday evening, carrying Josie in one arm and holding Lulu’s hand in her free hand. So far, they had found a great deal of entertainment in the fact that they could see their breath billowing out before them in the cold air (they’d pretended they were trains, tilting their heads back and puffing straight upwards), and now they’d turned to a game of I Spy.

‘Scarf?’ Lulu guessed again, looking up at the woollen garment wrapped around Jenna’s neck.

‘Nope,’ Jenna replied, smirking.

The eight-year-old sighed.

‘Sidewalk?’

‘No.’

‘Stones?’

‘No.’

‘Spoon.’

Jenna chuckled.

‘Can you see a spoon anywhere?’ she asked.

‘I give _up_ ,’ Lulu muttered, pouting.

‘It’s Santa!’ Jenna announced with glee, pointing to a nearby house which had a little light-up Santa Claus in the front window.

Lulu groaned. ‘How was I meant to see _that_?’

‘Well, it wouldn’t be no fun if it was easy, would it?’ Jenna asked, giving Lulu’s hand a squeeze, ‘It’s your turn.’

The girl frowned, twisting her mouth to the side as she thought.

‘I spy with my little eye, something beginning with “B”,’ she said.

Jenna pursed her lips as she looked around her.

‘Bushes?’

‘Nope.’

‘Branches?’

‘Nope.’

Jenna gestured to Josie, who was so completely uninterested in their game that she’d started dozing, ‘Baby?’

‘No,’ Lulu said, giggling.

‘Can I get a clue?’ Jenna requested, ‘What colour is it?’

‘Red,’ the girl replied.

‘Red. Red, red, red,’ Jenna murmured, looking up at the trees as they passed the park. Then she spotted something, a flash of crimson, darting about the branches and chirruping. ‘Bird!’ she asked triumphantly, pointing to the little animal in question.

‘Yay!’ Lulu cheered, ‘You got it.’

The pair of them watched as the bird swooped down and perched on a nearby log, fluffing up its feathers and standing on one leg, tucking the other up in the warmth of its feathers. It chirruped again, tilting its head towards its avid audience in curiosity.

‘Oh, it’s so cute!’ Lulu gasped, ‘It’s so tiny!’

‘You know what type of bird it is?’ Jenna asked her, lowering her voice so as not to frighten the creature off.

‘…a red one?’ Lulu assumed after a short pause.

Jenna chuckled.

‘Well, yeah, some people call it a redbird. But its real name is a northern cardinal.’

‘That’s a funny name for a bird,’ Lulu observed, wrinkling her nose.

‘They were your grandmama’s favourite,’ Jenna said, a certain wistfulness edging into her voice, ‘She loved hearing them sing.’

The cardinal swooped away again, returning to the treetops and twittering as it went. Lulu gave her mother’s hand a squeeze and smiled up at her.

‘Right, let’s get home,’ Jenna said, sniffing, ‘Josie’s getting heavy.’

‘Mama?’ Lulu began in her most sickly-sweet voice.

‘Lulu, if you’re about to ask whether we can get a pet bird, it’s a no. The cat would eat it, on top of anything else.’

‘Oh,’ the girl replied, apparently seeing no sense in pushing the matter any further.


	12. December 12th

When Jenna lifted the curtain to peek out of the window on Thursday morning, wrapped in her bathrobe, and saw that yet more snow had fallen overnight, her heart sunk right down to her slippered feet. Over the previous few days, with marginally warmer weather and even sunshine on occasion, the snow had seemed to dissipate a bit. But now, it looked like someone had dumped several tonnes of icing sugar over everything.

She peered down the street, to see people huddled up in their coats and scarves, digging around their cars with large spades. It looked like the snow was around a foot deep, knee-height at least. She puffed her cheeks out.

Jim was up already, on the phone to St. Joseph’s establishing which appointments were being upheld and which weren’t. Josie was sat up in her crib, rubbing her eyes sleepily and yawning. Soon, the three of them were joined by Lulu, who shuffled into the room and joined her mother at the window.

‘Hey, girl. Looks like there’s no school today,’ Jenna said, wrapping an arm around the eight-year-old’s shoulders.

‘Really?’ Lulu asked, hopefully.

‘Well, let me check,’ Jenna said, going to her nightstand to retrieve her phone. Sure enough, there was a text from the school, reading:

_Due to the heavy snowfall overnight, the school will be closed until further notice._

‘Yep, it’s a snow day,’ the mother announced, not sounding particularly enthusiastic. She decided to ring Becky, scrolling through her phone and pressing her name in her contacts.

‘Hey, girl,’ her friend answered.

‘Hey, are you at the diner?’ Jenna asked her.

‘Yup, um – the water’s frozen,’ Becky replied.

‘The water’s frozen?’ Jenna repeated, ‘What do you mean the water’s frozen?’

‘I’m turning the tap,’ Becky began, and Jenna could hear a faint squeaking in the background as her friend apparently demonstrated, ‘And the water’s not coming out.’

‘Shit,’ Jenna said simply, before remembering that two young children were present and clamping her hand over her mouth.

‘ _Mama_ ,’ Lulu gasped incredulously, ‘You _cursed_.’

‘What are we gonna do?’ Jenna asked Becky, waving her hand apologetically in her daughter’s direction.

‘You got a space heater? We gotta thaw the pipes.’

‘Yeah, somewhere. I guess we’re not gonna open today then?’ Jenna suspected, wincing.

‘With no water, we got no coffee, we can’t cook anything, clean anything…’ Becky reeled off, ‘With the snow the way it is, no one’s gonna be able to come down anyway. Dawn’s already rung in to say she has to stay home with Kenny because pre-school’s closed.’

Jenna nodded.

‘I’ll find a heater and be down as soon as I can.’

She clicked the phone off around the same time as Jim got off of his. He was looking worried.

‘The surgery’s still open but I’ve got a lot of cancellations,’ he said, ‘I’m still gonna go in so I can at least be there for people who do show up. I’ll drive you guys down to the diner.’

‘Thanks, Jim,’ Jenna said, before clapping her hands together briskly at her two daughters and saying, ‘Let’s move.’

Lulu obediently went back into her bedroom to pull some clothes on. Jenna left Josie in her crib while she picked out some clothes for her, then lifted her out to put her on the floor to dress her. Today, she was being bundled up in a pair of woollen tights, a smock dress, a cardigan, and her sturdiest ankle boots.

Once the family were ready, they all ventured outside and got into the car. The roads had at least cleared a little on account of the neighbours who had ventured out before them in their own cars, but Jim drove slowly, turning the heating on as far as it would go.

* * *

Were she not cold, bad-tempered, and about to lose a day’s business, Jenna would have thought that the diner looked almost pretty. The underside of the roof was lined with crystalline icicles, and the neon _Lulu & Jo’s Pies_ sign was sparkling slightly with each letter crowned in snow.

Jenna hoisted Josie up on one hip (the depth of the snow probably would have reached her shoulders) and lugged the space heater she’d found under her spare arm. Lulu was left to navigate the snow solo, wading through it knee-deep. The trio stumbled into the diner, stamping their feet on the welcome mat.

‘Becky?’ Jenna called, setting Josie down.

‘In here!’ came her friend’s voice from the back kitchen.

Jenna made sure Lulu and Josie were settled at one of the booths, before using both arms to carry the space heater through into the back. There, she saw Becky rummaging around under the sink.

‘It’s this one,’ the older woman said, ‘Come look.’

Jenna walked over and peered over Becky’s shoulder. Sure enough, the pipe was frosted over, with tiny icicles emerging from the joint.

‘Great,’ Jenna said flatly, ‘So we just sit this heater by it and it’ll thaw out?’

‘That’s what Cal said,’ Becky replied, peering at the pipe, ‘If we don’t thaw it, it might rupture.’

‘Right.’

The two women plugged the heater in and did just that. The heater whirred away in its action station under the sink, and they both decided to stay by it as it was the only thing providing any warmth in the whole building.

‘Girls, come in here and get warm,’ Jenna called through to the diner.

‘School’s out today, huh?’ Becky guessed, wrapping her arms around herself.

Jenna nodded. The pair were soon joined by Lulu and Josie, hand in hand and shivering. The mother crouched down with her children, wrapping an arm around each of them. Becky crouched down too, and the group huddled together, grimacing.

‘Jesus, what I wouldn’t give for some coffee right now,’ Becky said bitterly.

‘I could make some on the stove?’ Jenna suggested.

‘Oh, yeah. There’s no gas either,’ Becky replied, tutting.

‘Microwave?’ Jenna said with a shrug, gesturing to the heater, ‘We’ve got electricity.’

Becky laughed shortly.

‘Sure, why not.’


	13. December 13th

Jenna had never considered herself a superstitious woman, and the way people would dissolve into frenzied whispers about Friday the 13th would often made her roll her eyes so hard she saw the back of her skull. But today, she found herself subscribing more to the view that it was an objectively unlucky day.

School was still out, so the girls came with her again to the diner. They had at least thawed out the water pipe the day before, so the kitchen was, more or less, in working order. Whether they’d get any customers was another matter. The snow still sat stubbornly on the ground, slumping over cars and sloping up driveways.

‘This blows,’ Becky muttered at around ten o’clock, puffing her cheeks out and looking with disdain around the near-empty diner.

Jenna looked down at her watch.

‘One hour and we’ve had three people come in,’ she said, ‘It’s usually nearer thirty.’

‘It’d be fine if they ever bothered clearing the damn roads,’ Becky grumbled, ‘People don’t wanna wade through three feet of snow, no matter how good the pie is.’

‘Where shall I put these buns, Jenna?’ Nellie asked as she sailed through from the kitchen with a plate of fresh currant buns.

‘Just on top of the counter, thanks Nellie,’ Jenna instructed, ‘We might as well eat them ourselves at this point.’

The girl did as she was told, pulling a face.

‘I’m bored out my ass in there,’ Cal announced as he slunk through to join the waitresses.

‘Join the club,’ Becky said sassily.

‘Is Dawn alright, Cal?’ Jenna asked, turning to face him.

‘I dunno, she’s been in there a while,’ the man replied gruffly.

‘I’d better check on her,’ Jenna sighed, lifting her shoulders.

‘Oh, Jenna, please don’t leave us with all these customers,’ Becky said dramatically, bringing a limp hand to her forehead.

Jenna laughed, turning on her heel and walking through to the back toilet to find Dawn. She walked through the kitchen, seeing Lulu and Josie sat at one of the worktops. Lulu was working on homework that the school had set whilst they weren’t attending class, and Josie was having a marvellous time with her wooden building blocks (her older sister had tried time and time again to show her how to build a tower with them, but the toddler preferred bashing them together).

‘Not too bored, girls?’ Jenna asked them as she walked through.

‘I’ve got one last math worksheet,’ Lulu told her, ‘And then I’ll probably be bored.’

‘We’ll find something for you to do,’ Jenna said as she went into the toilet.

Dawn was stood at the sink, running her hands under the tap and washing her face. She looked pale, and tired, and Jenna felt a twinge of empathy.

‘You okay, hon?’ she asked, stepped up to the younger woman and wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

‘I’d forgotten how rotten it was at the start,’ Dawn muttered, leaning her head on Jenna’s shoulder, ‘I’m sorry I had to run out.’

‘Hey, don’t worry, we’ve got hardly any customers today. You just take it easy, yeah?’

‘Yes, boss.’

* * *

‘Right, I’ve had enough of this shit.’

‘Becky, don’t curse in front of the customers!’

‘ _What_ customers, Dawn?’

The time was now nearing twelve o’clock, and the diner had seen a smattering of customers. As of this moment, there was one young student sat in the corner, with headphones on and her laptop on the table in front of her.

Jenna stood with her arms folded, hands gripping her elbows. She almost wished they’d just stayed shut for another day; business was so poor that it was barely worth the electricity bill. She looked over at her daughters, tucked away in one corner, sharing a currant bun. Lulu was sat with her chin propped up in one hand, buzzing her lips together in boredom.

‘Let’s close early,’ she decided after a moment.

‘You sure?’ Dawn asked, sounding shocked.

‘Let’s close up, eat anything that needs to go today, and put the Christmas decorations up,’ Jenna said, ‘We’ll put some music on too.’

‘Yes, boss!’ Becky cheered, marching straight over to the solitary customer in the corner and telling her in a loud voice (on account of the headphones), ‘We’re closing up early today, hon.’

The girl nodded and gathered up her things, paid her check, and scurried out the door.

‘Alright, Becky, you get the decorations out the back. Dawn, you make some coffees. Cal, could you make us up some buttermilk pancakes? Nellie, you come in the back and help me decide what needs eating up.’

With instructions given, the team dispersed. Jenna and Nellie walked back through to the large fridge in the back to look through the bulk-made pies, retrieving the ones that needed eating that day. Cal set to work at the stove, whipping together a batter and heating up the griddle. After a moment, Lulu wandered in, looking hopeful.

‘Can I help?’ she asked.

‘We’ve got this, hon,’ Nellie replied, shuffling the pies she was holding so she had two in one hand and three in the other.

‘Is your sister alright?’ Jenna asked, noticing that the toddler wasn’t behind her older sister.

‘Yep, she’s just playing on the table,’ Lulu said, shrugging.

Jenna quickly put the pies she was holding back on the workstation and sped through to the diner. Her heart lurched when she saw her toddler trying to climb down from the table herself, and she ran over to catch her, just as she slipped and almost fell to the floor.

‘Not quite ready for acrobatics just yet, are we?’ she said quietly, holding Josie safe on her hip and exhaling slowly.

Then, she walked over to the diner door and switched the sign to “closed”.

* * *

With Christmas music blaring over the sound system, the team of _Lulu & Jo’s Pies_ set about decorating the diner. Strings of tinsel were hung from the beams under the roof, with twinkling ornaments dangling in each window. Lulu sat at one of the diner booths, working on some designs for Christmas menus.

‘Cal, can you just pin up this garland? I can’t reach,’ Jenna requested.

‘Nellie, have we got anymore blue baubles? This tree’s looking real uneven, we need more blue on this side,’ Dawn said worriedly.

‘These are the only ones I could find,’ replied Nellie, walking over with an armful of purple and silver baubles, ‘I couldn’t see any more blue.’

‘Oh, alright,’ Dawn said in disappointment, ‘Maybe I could move some around, so it’s more even?’

‘It’s a damn Christmas tree, Dawn,’ Becky said with a certain fond exasperation as she pinned a string of bunting underneath the edge of the counter.

Josie was in the middle of the diner, dancing around to the music and yelling what she could pronounce of the lyrics. She’d been a little fussy earlier, so Becky had given her a make-shift necklace, constructed of a small battery-powered string of fairy lights. The toddler waggled her hips, flaunting her new bling and grinning at anyone who made eye-contact.

‘Gonna give Mariah a run for her money, this one,’ Becky said, chuckling.

Jenna turned to look at her daughter, deciding against mentioning how exhausting she’d been recently. The bad weather had disrupted her; where usually she went to day-care and had set routines each day, she’d now been carted to and from the diner for two days in a row. She’d been unsettled, fussier than usual, and Jenna could only hope that order would be restored sooner rather than later.

‘Mama, how’s this?’ Lulu asked her, running over to her with one of her designs.

Jenna looked at it. The girl had drawn holly leaves in each corner, with the menu items written out in green, sparkly gel pen. At the top of the page, the word “menu” was underlined with a red and white striped candy cane.

‘It’s looking good!’ the mother praised. ‘Maybe something in this white space at the bottom?’ she suggested, pointing to the bottom of the page.

‘Okay, maybe some pies?’ Lulu asked.

'Sounds perfect,' Jenna said warmly, handing the girl her design back and watching as she scurried back over to her work station.

After a couple of hours, the diner was ready, and the team sat around the Christmas tree with hot chocolates. Josie, having worn herself out with her one-woman show, lay asleep in her mother’s lap. Becky and Cal sat, bantering as usual but holding hands all the same. Lulu was chatting with Nellie about all the fun they were having with Mustard and Muffin respectively, and Dawn was fastidiously re-arranging the decorations on the tree. Jenna felt herself smile as she sipped her hot chocolate.

Perhaps Friday the 13th wasn’t so unlucky after all.


	14. December 14th

The snow had cleared a little by the next day, so Jenna decided to open the diner, but only for half the day. There was a slightly higher concentration of customers because of this, which helped lift the mood and morale of every staff member. The Christmas decorations they’d all put up the day before certainly helped.

At around one o’clock, closing time for today, Jenna opened her phone to see a rare text from Jim.

_Hey, sorry I’ve been so busy this week. Dinner tonight? I’ve got a sitter for the girls x_

Jenna smiled at her phone, feeling a warmth spread to her fingertips as she tapped out a reply.

_That’d be lovely. Where are you taking me?_

_It’s a surprise_ _😉_ _Dress up x_

She frowned a little at that last sentence. What did he mean, “dress up”? Neither of them had the luxury of dressing up these days; in fact, Jenna only owned one reasonably fancy dress and she’d had it so long it had lost its sheen somewhat. She grimaced; it looked like she was going to have to go shopping.

‘Hey, Dawn,’ she said to her friend as she was clearing away empty plates, ‘You wanna come help me pick a dress?’

The younger woman blinked at her.

‘A dress?’ she repeated, then she gasped, ‘You mean -’

‘ _Not_ a wedding dress,’ Jenna clarified hastily, ‘Jim’s taking me to dinner.’

‘Oh, okay,’ Dawn said, placing a hand on her chest, ‘Um, sure! Where’s he taking you?’

‘I don’t know, he just said to dress up,’ Jenna replied, nibbling her lower lip.

‘Someone mention dressing up?’ came Becky’s voice as she walked over to the pair, wiping her hands on a dish cloth.

‘Jim’s taking me out to dinner,’ Jenna said, ‘I got nothing to wear.’

‘Challenge accepted,’ Becky said, clapping her hands together.

* * *

The three friends walked through to the centre of town, where most of the good clothes stores were, linking arms to stop each other from slipping over in the snow. They walked into one independent store which specialised in formal wear and evening dresses. Once inside, they split up and rifled through each clothes rail individually, searching through dresses of satin, velvet, and sequins.

‘How about this one?’ Becky asked, holding up a dark green number. It was bodycon, which after two children, Jenna physically recoiled at.

‘I can’t wear that,’ she hissed.

‘Sure you could,’ Becky dismissed, hanging the dress back on the rail all the same.

‘Nothing too… _clingy_ ,’ Jenna clarified.

‘You’ve got nothing to worry about, girl, but I hear you,’ Becky accepted, turning to investigate a different clothes rail.

‘This one?’ Dawn suggested, holding up a baby blue skater dress. It met the criteria of “nothing too clingy” but Jenna didn’t particularly like pastel colours.

‘I like the style, but not the colour,’ she said.

Dawn nodded, putting the dress back.

Jenna wandered between the rails, running her index finger along the material of each dress and waiting for something to jump out at her. She noticed Becky and Dawn stood together at a rail on the other side of the room, deep in discussion. Wandering over to them, she soon saw what they were talking about.

‘Jenna,’ Becky began, taking the dress off the rail and showing her.

‘No,’ Jenna said immediately.

‘But, it’s gorgeous -’

‘I don’t wear red. You know I don’t wear red.’

‘Just, come look, at least?’ Becky implored her, gesturing to the floor-length mirror hung on one wall of the store.

Jenna shot her a dangerous look, but stalked over. She stood in front of the mirror, with her friends on either side of her, and let Becky hold the dress in front of her. It was bright red satin, with a tight bodice and a long, A-line skirt. It was simple, sophisticated. If it was _any_ other colour…

‘I don’t know, girls,’ Jenna admitted, ‘I guess I’m being silly, but red dresses just -’

‘Honey. I love you. But it’s just a dress,’ Becky said gently, smoothing the skirt out a little, ‘At least try it on? If you don’t like it, fair enough.’

‘It would look so good on you, Jenna,’ Dawn contributed earnestly, looking at Jenna’s reflection in the mirror and smiling.

Jenna tilted her head forward and pressed it against her fingertips. It was just a dress. Just a red dress.

‘Fine,’ she said, taking the dress from Becky’s hands and walking over to the fitting rooms.

She stepped into one cubicle, closing the curtain behind her, and got out of her work clothes. Taking a deep breath, she stepped into the dress and pulled it up her body, the satin gliding over her skin. She looked in the mirror, standing with the dress unfastened, and smoothed the material down over herself. Then, she reached behind her and awkwardly managed to do up the zipper.

To her dismay, the dress looked perfect.

It flattered her figure by concealing the bits she didn’t like (hips) and showing off the bits she didn’t mind as much (waist). The colour made her blue eyes look even bluer and as she turned to get a side view, she liked the way it smoothed over her stomach. Turned to the mirror face on again, she puffed her cheeks out.

When she stepped out of the fitting room, she saw her two friends waiting for her in anticipation. They ran towards her immediately, grinning.

‘Girl, you look _incredible_ ,’ Becky praised.

‘It’s perfect!’ Dawn agreed.

‘It’s not too much?’ Jenna asked doubtfully.

‘Not at all!’ the younger woman assured her.

‘Well,’ Becky mused, ‘I reckon the first thing Jim’s gonna wanna do when he sees you in this dress is take it off of you.’

‘ _Becky_ ,’ Jenna hissed, whacking her on the arm.

The older woman giggled.

* * *

Jenna quickly got ready in their bedroom later that day, putting a little makeup on and digging out a pair of red heels to go with the dress. She combed through her hair, letting it sit in its natural waves around her shoulders.

‘Hey, Jenna, the cab’s here,’ Jim said as he came into the room, stopping as soon as he saw her, ‘Oh, wow.’

‘Hey,’ Jenna greeted him, almost shyly, standing upright so he could take a good look at her.

‘I’m marrying the most beautiful woman in the world,’ he said simply, walking over to her and placing his hands on her shoulders, ‘Have I ever seen you wear red before?’

Jenna shrugged. ‘I’ve got a bit of a… thing, about red dresses. I’ll tell you about it sometime,’ she explained sheepishly.

‘Is the thing that you look _incredible_ in them?’

‘Not exactly,’ Jenna laughed.

He kissed her forehead, then offered her his arm.

‘Let’s go.’

‘Are you gonna tell me where we’re going?’

‘Nope, wait and see.’

‘I’m not sure I like you keeping secrets from me,’ Jenna said flirtatiously as they walked out of the room together.

‘Well, hey, you kept it a secret that you look insanely hot in red, so,’ Jim whispered into her ear.

She shivered a little as they descended the stairs, biting her lip against a grin.

The parents poked their head around the door of the front room to check on the girls, who were nicely settled with the sitter in front of the television.

‘Be good, you two!’ she called to them, before saying to the sitter, ‘We’ll be back around eleven, Sarah, help yourself to tea and coffee.’

The young girl nodded, ‘Have a lovely evening.’

‘We will,’ Jim replied, before leading Jenna out of the front door, down their front path, and into the waiting cab.


	15. December 15th

He’d only taken her to the finest restaurant in Stanton Grove. _Bella e Buona_ had often piqued Jenna’s interest when she’d passed it, with its crisp white tablecloths and glistening tableware. However, the menus (specifically, the prices on the menus) illuminated in glass display cases on the front of the building, had always made her wince and carry on walking.

When she’d stepped out of the cab with Jim, she’d been very glad she decided to buy a new dress.

Jenna’s immediate reaction had been to grab Jim’s arm, quietly scolding him for such extravagance. But after an incredible meal of bruschetta, risotto, tiramisu, and far too much wine (during which he’d scanned his eyes over her so many times it made her toes curl pleasantly), she found she didn’t mind as much.

The pair had stumbled through their front door at around eleven o’clock as promised. They paid Sarah, who told them both children were in bed and asleep. When she’d gone home, the parents stood in the front room, facing each other. Within minutes, they were kissing, and he’d unzipped that dress so it slipped down, pooling around her feet.

* * *

When morning came, the parents awoke, still tangled up in each other on the sofa, underneath a blanket. Jenna woke up first, feeling the warmth of his breath on the back of her neck and smiling. And then, her head started hurting. She grimaced, bringing her thumb and forefinger to massage the bridge of her nose. When Jim woke up, he did the same thing, groaning.

‘Good morning,’ she mumbled, when she noticed he was awake.

‘Oh, my God, I’m dying,’ he replied, screwing his eyes closed.

‘I didn’t even think we had that much to drink?’

‘We didn’t. That’s the sad part.’

‘You want coffee?’

‘Please.’

Jenna went to stand up, before remembering that the only item of clothing she had on was her bra. She located her panties on the carpet and reached for them, pulling them on, and then considered her options. She could put the dress back on, but she risked Lulu coming downstairs and asking her a host of questions. There was only one thing for it.

She picked the dress up and held it in her arms.

‘We’ve got to get everything upstairs before the girls wake up,’ she said to Jim.

‘Yes, good idea,’ Jim agreed, standing up in his boxers and finding his clothes on the floor.

With everything gathered up, they crept out of the room and up the stairs to their bedroom.

‘I cannot believe we got drunk and had sex on the sofa,’ hissed Jenna in consternation as they padded through the bedroom door.

‘Well,’ Jim said casually, ‘It’s not the _weirdest_ place we’ve had sex.’

Jenna scoffed at him, but giggled, before quickly glancing over to check that Josie was still asleep. It was just past seven o’clock in the morning, so they were safe for about half an hour or so, judging by the toddler’s usual routine.

The pair of them quickly, quietly changed into pyjamas and bathrobes, before going back down stairs to the kitchen for much needed coffee.

* * *

A couple of hours later, the family were all up and sat around the kitchen table eating breakfast. With Sundays being the only day of the week on which they were able to do this, Jenna usually made a real effort with the food; her usual offering was blueberry oatmeal in the winter months, but in her fragile state today, she’d made several rounds of toast instead.

After breakfast, they all got their woolliest clothing on and ventured out to the park. It had been Lulu’s request, and the parents thought the crisp air might ease their respective headaches a little. As they walked along the road, holding one of Josie’s hands in each of theirs as she toddled between them, they kept their eyes on the ground; the bright sunlight reflecting off the pure white of the snow did nothing but sting their eyes and make their heads pound.

They exchanged meek looks as they finally reached the park and let Lulu bound in ahead of them.

‘In sickness and in health, eh Nelson?’ Jim said, squinting at her.

‘Yup,’ Jenna agreed, chuckling quietly as the pair of them followed Lulu into the park.


	16. December 16th

On Monday evening, the parents sat on the sofa together and watched television. The girls were in bed; Lulu had taken a while to settle as her school nativity play was on the following Friday, and it wasn’t that she felt like _she_ wasn’t ready, it was that she felt like no one else was.

‘Ella still doesn’t know her lines,’ she’d said to her mother as she’d tucked her in.

‘She’s one of the narrator’s, right?’ Jenna clarified.

‘Uh-huh,’ Lulu nodded, ‘She has to say, “and the three wise men followed the star to Bethlehem”.’

‘Is that it?’ Jenna said, expecting more.

‘Yes!’ Lulu exclaimed, exasperated, ‘And she keeps forgetting it!’

‘Well, not everyone’s as professional as you, Lulu,’ the mother said fondly, leaning down to kiss the child on her forehead.

‘I know,’ Lulu said, tutting and pulling the covers right up underneath her chin.

And now, the parents, having found nothing else on offer which piqued their interest, were watching a nature documentary about northern Europe: they took in pictures of crisp, white landscapes with lush evergreen trees, and wolves darting about, and little towns nestled in between great valleys.

‘It looks so beautiful,’ Jenna sighed, ‘I’ve never been to Europe.’

‘Me neither,’ Jim replied, ‘We should go sometime.’

The next segment of the documentary featured the Aurora Borealis, and Jenna’s eyes widened as she looked at the green prisms of colour dancing across the night sky.

‘Oh, wow,’ she breathed.

‘Mom and Dad went to Europe for their honeymoon,’ Jim told her, continuing his thought, ‘I should ask them for recommendations.’

‘Can we go there?’ Jenna requested, looking up at him and pointing at the images of the Northern Lights.

He chuckled quietly, kissing her forehead, ‘Sure we can.’

The two of them settled back down again and sat quietly for a few moments.

‘I was thinking,’ Jim began, trailing his fingers down her arm, ‘As fun as it was on Saturday night…’

She turned to look up at him again.

‘We’re not making a habit of it,’ she finished, ‘I don’t know what we were thinking; Lulu could have come downstairs for a drink or something and _bam_ , scarred for life.’

He laughed, running a hand through his hair.

‘Agreed,’ he said, ‘But I was wondering if maybe the time has come for Josie to be moved out of our room?’

She pursed her lips together, giving the matter thought. She knew exactly what he was getting at; although their sex life had continued with relative regularity since the birth of their daughter, a year and a half of very quiet, very discreet rendezvous conducted entirely under the covers was getting a little trying.

‘Into Lulu’s room?’ Jenna assumed.

‘Well, we’ve no other rooms for a nursery, so… yes,’ Jim hedged, ‘I don’t know if she’ll be keen on the idea.’

‘I’ll talk to her about it,’ Jenna told him, ‘Josie doesn’t wake up as much in the night now, so I don’t see it being a problem.’

And as if in direct response, the baby monitor in the corner of the room crackled into life with Josie crying.

‘Hungry?’ Jim asked, laughing.

‘No,’ Jenna said, tilting her head forward to hear better, ‘Diaper change.’

‘It’s my turn, isn’t it?’ said Jim in dismay, heaving himself to his feet.

‘Correct,’ Jenna said, patting him on the back in comradeship, ‘I’m gonna make some tea, and then I’ll head up.’

She watched him step out of the room, rolling his shoulders back in preparation. Then she watched the end of the documentary and switched the television off, before getting to her feet and going to pick up Mustard from his new favourite place by the fire.

‘Bed time, Mister,’ she whispered, holding the kitten in her arms and watching him curl up.

She carried him through to the kitchen and set him down by his bed. He didn’t seem immediately interested in going to bed, thank you very much, instead opting for visiting his food bowl by the back door.

With peppermint tea made, Jenna carefully shut the kitchen door behind her and crept up the stairs. She reached their bedroom to see Jim stood by the window, cuddling Josie against his chest and singing to her softly. The toddler’s eyes were closed as she tucked her head under her father’s chin and rested her clenched fists on his shoulders.

‘She’s settled then?’ she asked softly, placing her tea down on her night stand.

‘Yup, all sorted,’ Jim replied, turning to face her.

‘Let me take her,’ Jenna requested, walking over to him and holding her arms out.

He passed the child over, then followed Jenna as she carried her over to gently place her back in her crib. She whimpered a little at the disturbance, but settled, stretching her arms and legs out. Jenna looked at her as her eyelashes flickered a little in her sleep, her pacifier bobbing a little as she sucked on it.

‘Lulu used to sleep just like that,’ she said to Jim quietly, ‘Taking up _all_ the room.’

‘Hmm,’ Jim hummed, ‘They get that from you, then.’

‘ _Hey_ ,’ Jenna admonished, whacking Jim on his upper arm, ‘I do _not_ take up all the room.’

‘Oh, you do,’ Jim argued smugly, ‘But it’s okay, I forgive you.’

With that, he kissed her forehead and clambered into bed, patting the space next to him with a grin. She scowled at him, but quickly hopped in next to him and snuggled against his chest.


	17. December 17th

On Tuesday afternoon, with Jim having finished early and picked up Josie from day-care, Jenna and Lulu found themselves with some rare mother-daughter time. The diner was seeing a heavier flow of customers now, as the snow had cleared from the roads at least, and so was staying open for longer hours. With the skies darkening from mid-afternoon, however, the patrons tended to dwindle towards the end of the day, so Jenna had decided that the diner should close an hour earlier.

At four o’clock on the dot, Jenna and Lulu stepped out of _Lulu and Jo’s Pies_ and headed towards home.

‘So, how are you feeling about this play, girl?’ Jenna asked her daughter, linking their arms together.

The eight-year-old buzzed her lips together. ‘I think we’ll be okay,’ she said, ‘Most people know their lines now.’

‘Good, good,’ Jenna said, nodding.

The pair walked together quietly for a few moments. The skies were at least a little clearer today, and the evening sun peeked out between the trees, making the town look almost pretty with its gentle glow.

‘Hey, you wanna walk back through the park?’ the mother asked.

‘Um. Okay,’ Lulu said, uncertainly, ‘Why?’

‘I’d like to talk to you about something,’ Jenna explained.

‘Why do we need to walk through the park to talk about something?’ the girl asked, raising an eyebrow.

‘Because, it might take a while, Missy,’ Jenna said, jabbing her elbow into Lulu’s ribs and making her giggle, ‘And I reckon the park’ll look real pretty with the sun going down.’

The eight-year-old nodded her consent, and the pair took a left turn towards the park. As Jenna suspected, the trees looked almost fantastical in the amber sunlight. The snow was still thick underfoot, with little sprigs of ferns and twigs just poking through. It was also quiet, apart from their trudging footsteps. Peaceful. Ideal settings for a heart-to-heart.

‘So, Lulu,’ Jenna began, patting Lulu’s arm where it interlinked with her own, ‘I was wondering if – I was wondering how you would feel about… sharing your room. With your sister.’

Lulu was quiet, taking the suggestion in. Jenna snuck a sideways look at her.

‘Um,’ Lulu voiced uncertainly, ‘Why?’

Her tone of voice wasn’t defensive, or even indignant. More curious. A casual request for further information.

‘Well,’ Jenna said, ‘She’s getting a little big now, to be in mine and Jim’s room.’

A little line appeared between Lulu’s eyebrows.

‘She’s still little, though,’ she said.

‘Yes, she is,’ Jenna agreed, holding back a sigh, ‘But she’s big enough to not need to be in our bedroom.’

‘When did I stop sleeping in your room?’ Lulu asked.

‘You were around the same age as Josie is now,’ Jenna told her, silently grateful that her daughter had thrown her a bone.

‘Does she stop you and Jim sleeping?’ the girl asked, ‘Is that why you want to move her out?’

‘No, no. She doesn’t. That’s not why,’ Jenna replied, before taking a breath, ‘It’s because -’

She paused. How on earth to put this?

‘It’s because,’ she began again, ‘Jim and I – we need privacy. You know what that word means?’

‘Yeah, it’s like – it’s like you wanna keep something to yourself,’ the girl replied.

‘Exactly,’ Jenna said, ‘That’s exactly it.’

The eight-year-old was quiet for a few moments, giving the matter thought.

‘Maybe we could try it,’ she conceded after a while.

‘Really? Thank you, Lulu. Thank you for being so grown-up about it.’

‘It’s okay,’ the girl said with a smile, ‘I hope she doesn’t cry, though.’

Jenna chuckled.

‘She doesn’t cry much now, no,’ she assured her.

‘That’s good,’ Lulu replied, darkly.

With the matter, for the most part, now settled, the pair walked amicably through the park towards home. At the back of Jenna’s mind was the worry that Josie would not take well to being moved to a different room; however, she remembered all the times that the toddler had fallen asleep in her lap on the sofa, in the car, at the diner, or anywhere. It seemed that the child had no trouble getting to sleep in any location as long as she was calm and felt safe. She hoped that would ring true as they took this next step.

Either that, or they’d have to buy a bigger house, which with a wedding to plan and pay for, wasn’t a particularly attractive option.


	18. December 18th

Pick-up duties fell to Jenna on Wednesday evening; Jim was swamped with appointments, and while Jill would usually offer to take both Lulu and Hannah home after their rehearsal, today she had to work late. So, after making a quick getaway from the diner at around quarter to four, Jenna first walked to day-care to collect Josie, and then to the girls’ school.

‘Hi girls!’ she greeted them, balancing Josie on one hip, as Lulu and Hannah ran out of the building towards her, ‘How were rehearsals?’

‘Good,’ Lulu told her, ‘Miss Evers said we’d obviously been practising real hard.’

‘I think _our_ scene is the best, Lulu,’ Hannah said proudly, walking next to her as they made their way along the sidewalk.

‘I’m excited to watch it,’ Jenna said, hitching Josie up slightly as she walked.

‘Are you _and_ Jim coming, Mama?’ Lulu asked her.

‘I reckon so,’ the mother replied, ‘He’s kept his diary empty.’

‘Good,’ her daughter said with a nod.

Jenna led them onwards towards the bus stop at the end of the road, biting her lip against a grin.

‘Um, Mama, this isn’t the way home,’ Lulu said suspiciously, pointing towards a road branching off to the right, ‘It’s that way.’

‘I thought we’d go into town first,’ Jenna said, turning to face her daughter when they’d reached the bus stop.

‘Why?’ the girl questioned.

‘Oh, well,’ Jenna began airily, ‘I heard someone special’s visiting.’

She watched with glee as the two eight-year-olds exchanged looks, their expressions swiftly morphing into ones of euphoria when they worked it out.

‘ _Santa_?’ they screeched in excitable chorus.

‘Yup, you wanna go see him?’

‘Yes!’

Jenna laughed as the two girls jumped around, squealing incoherently at each other about all the things they were going to ask him for and talk to him about. Josie seemed nonplussed, reaching to grasp at a loose strand of her mother’s hair.

In the centre of town, for a week only, a little Santa’s Grotto had been set up. It was a new instalment that year, and Jenna had noticed the advertisement pop up on social media. For a couple of hours each evening, the children were free to go and sit on Santa’s lap and take photos with him. Seeing as Jill had said she wouldn’t be back until after six o’clock (Henry was working away again), and Jim had said it could be nearer seven o’clock, Jenna thought it a nice idea to take the girls for a short outing rather than trying to keep them all entertained at home.

She had to gently quieten the girls down when the bus finally trundled into view, letting them hop on board and go and find seats next to each other while she paid the driver.

* * *

The quartet alighted the bus in the centre of town, and made their way towards the grotto. Luckily, with it being a Wednesday evening, it wasn’t particularly busy. The girls joined the queue with the other children and (im)patiently waited their turn. Jenna stood back a little from the crowd, keeping Josie hoisted on one hip.

She snuck a look at the toddler, who was gaping at the grotto with wide eyes. It was a little wooden shed, adorned with flashing lights and tinsel. The words _Santa’s Grotto_ were emblazoned on the top in a glittering font, with small speakers on either side of them blaring out Christmas tunes. Santa himself was sat on a large armchair, chortling away with a child perched on each knee, and surrounded by gifts wrapped in shining paper and ribbons.

‘You wanna join, girl?’ Jenna asked Josie, pointing towards the spectacle with her free hand.

The toddler reached out with both arms, grasping at thin air.

‘I’ll take that as a yes,’ Jenna said, laughing, ‘Let’s go and find Lulu, yeah?’

‘Wuwu,’ Josie repeated, pointing towards her sister in amongst the queue of children.

‘Lulu, that’s right.’

Jenna carried Josie over to Lulu and Hannah, lowering her to the floor.

‘Can you girls look after Josie?’ she asked them, ‘She’d like to meet Santa, too.’

‘Yes, Mama,’ Lulu said, obediently taking her younger sister’s hand.

‘I’ll be just over here, okay?’ Jenna said, pointing to a nearby lamppost (an ideal vantage point for taking photos).

‘Okay,’ the girls chorused.

After a few moments, the three girls had reached the front of the queue, and Santa Claus called them all forward. He sat Josie on his knee, and Lulu and Hannah sat cross-legged on the floor in front of him. Jenna couldn’t really hear what he was saying to them from where she was stood, apart from when he chortled loudly, his great belly jiggling. She kept an eye on Josie, who looked a little uncertain about the strange bearded man on whose lap she was sat, but she wasn’t crying. She turned to look up at him, reaching upwards to grasp his beard. Jenna felt a lurch in her stomach as she had visions of her toddler pulling off Santa’s fake beard and ruining the whole illusion, but luckily, it appeared that it was authentic. Santa laughed as the toddler tugged on his beard a little, gently moving her hand away and holding it in his own. He then reached into his sack and retrieved three parcels, one for each of the girls, and wished them all a merry Christmas.

‘Could I please get a photo of you all, Santa?’ Jenna stepped forward, grinning as she played along.

‘Well, of course you can, young lady!’ Santa replied cheerfully.

Lulu laughed loudly.

‘Mama’s not a young lady!’ she giggled as she got up to stand on one side of Santa, while Hannah stood on the other.

Jenna raised her eyebrows at her daughter, but couldn’t help giggling all the same.

‘Well, Lulu, you oughtta be careful,’ Santa warned her, ‘Or you might not stay on my nice list.’

Lulu’s eyes widened.

‘Sorry, Mama, you’re very young,’ she said hurriedly, clasping her hands in front of her.

‘Thank you, Lulu,’ Jenna replied, snapping a photo of them all on her cell.

After that, Hannah and Lulu gave Santa a hug each, and Jenna took Josie back into her arms. The three parcels were put into Jenna’s satchel (much to the dismay of the older girls, who had wanted to open them then and there). Then, they all walked back to the bus stop.

‘So girls, what did you ask Santa for?’ Jenna asked them.

‘I asked him for a pony,’ Hannah replied, ‘I want a white one.’

‘Wow, a pony?’ Jenna said, wondering whether Jill and Henry were aware of this particular Christmas wish.

‘ _I_ said he could bring me whatever he liked,’ Lulu contributed, ‘Because all I wanted for Christmas was a kitten, and I’ve already got that.’

Jenna grinned, silently relieved that her daughter hadn’t asked for anything completely unfeasible.


	19. December 19th

_Snowed-under Sugarplum Pie. Combine baby plums with sugar and flour. Bake in a plain pastry crust until caramelised and bubbling. Top with soft peaks of meringue and bake till golden. Finish with small spirals of vanilla cream, whipped till white as snow._

Jenna stood back from her creation, wiped a floury hand across her forehead and nodded. It would do.

With a wedding to plan for, two children to raise, and Christmas looming on the horizon, she hadn’t had as much time as she’d like to invent new pies. But today, as the rest of the staff had left the diner at closing time, and Jim had picked the girls up and taken them home, Jenna was left alone in the diner kitchen with full reign of the utilities and ingredients.

She found a plastic cover for the pie and carried it over to the fridge to place it inside for the next day. Once it had been safely stored, she quickly washed everything up and put it away, wiping down the surfaces with the dish cloth. Then, she collected her bag and coat and switched the light off, stepping outside the back door and locking it securely behind her.

* * *

When Jenna stepped through her front door, she was greeted with the familiar smell of a lasagne cooking (her favourite dish from Jim’s rather limited repertoire), and also by the sound of manic laughter emanating from the front room. She quickly changed into her slippers and peeked around the door to see what the ruckus was about. She was rather surprised, and amused, to see that Jim was kneeling up on the floor, with a baby-blue tea towel perched on his head, and his hands pressed together as if he was praying.

‘Oh, how _can_ I have a baby?’ he asked dramatically, in a pitch roughly three octaves higher than his usual tone, ‘I’m not married yet!’

Lulu was stood alongside him, dressed in the angel costume Jenna had sourced for her. It consisted of a white nightgown, with a satin sash around her middle, a pair of fur-trimmed wings, and a halo made of tinsel.

The girl would have looked quite the part if she wasn’t bent over double, laughing so hard that her face had gone red.

‘Well, hello,’ Jenna greeted as she walked in, laughing, ‘You guys rehearsing?’

‘Well,’ Jim said with feigned indignance, ‘We _would_ be, but Lulu’s just not focusing. I said I’d stand in for Mary, and just look how unprofessional she’s being.’

‘I – I _can’t_ ,’ Lulu panted as she tried to stop laughing.

‘Lulu Nelson, what’s so funny?’ Jenna questioned, playing along, ‘It’s clear you’re just not taking this seriously.’

‘M-Mama – Jim, show her – what you did,’ the girl choked.

Jenna glanced around to check where Josie was, and saw her sat playing happily with her wooden blocks by the Christmas tree. She was apparently not remotely interested in the theatrics taking place.

‘Let’s see it from the top, then,’ Jenna said, clapping her hands together director-style and kneeling on the floor in front of Jim and Lulu.

‘Get it together, man,’ Jim muttered to the girl, who was still giggling.

Each of them moved to their “starting position”. Lulu stood on one side, closer to the fireplace, and Jim sat down cross-legged on the floor across from her. Jenna looked at Lulu as she walked onto the stage delicately and moved over to him. Jim didn’t look at her until she was stood right next to him, at which time he turned and gave an almighty wail of fear when he saw her, flailing his arms in the air and tipping over onto his back. Jenna laughed out loud, which in turn set Lulu off again.

‘Mary, do – do not – be afraid,’ the girl gasped, ‘You will have a baby, and you will call him Jesus.’

Jenna clapped, feeling tears start to roll down her face.

‘Oh, my God,’ she said, rubbing her thumbs under her eyes quickly, ‘That was... quite something.’

‘I really think my calling’s in the theatre, you know,’ Jim said as he heaved himself to his feet, jutting his chin out proudly.

‘Definitely, you moved me,’ Jenna said solemnly, before snorting with laughter again at the sight of him with a tea towel on his head.

The sound of the oven timer beeping brought them all out of the moment, and everyone got to their feet.

‘Lulu, I think you should go and get changed out of your costume before dinner. If you get lasagne on it, I am _not_ staying up all night getting the stain out.’

Lulu nodded, chuckling, before heading out of the room and thundering up the stairs.

‘So. Standing in for Mary huh?’ Jenna said to Jim, lifting Josie, who had toddled over to them, into her arms.

‘Yup. She was getting a little nervous about the play tomorrow, so I said I’d help her out. I thought I’d cheer her up a bit,’ Jim explained, finally taking the tea towel off his head and smoothing his hair down.

‘I’ll have to let Miss Evers know,’ Jenna said as they walked out of the room towards the kitchen.

‘Let her know what?’

‘Well, if Hannah’s taken ill tomorrow, we’ve got a solid understudy already in place,’ Jenna said with a wink.


	20. December 20th

Lulu’s nativity play was, as many nativity plays are, riotously entertaining for many of the right reasons and several of the wrong ones. Many children forgot their lines and had to be prompted by a rather stressed-looking Miss Evers. Some children remembered their lines perfectly but said them so quickly that they were missed anyway. When it came to their finale performance of _Away in a Manger_ , there was one child (one of the sheep, who had apparently decided he’d not been given enough to do and was resolved to steal the limelight) who sang far louder than any of the other second-graders.

‘Well, _that_ child will never need a microphone,’ Jenna heard one mother whisper tersely behind her.

Jenna thought that Lulu and Hannah performed their scene together as the Angel Gabriel and Mary very well, but she couldn’t help but feel that, after witnessing Jim’s flair for theatrics yesterday, that it missed a certain sense of melodrama. Josie, on the other hand, seemed less than impressed and slept in her father’s lap for the entire performance.

Afterwards, once Lulu had got changed out of her angel outfit and come to meet them, the family all drove home.

‘So, Lulu, you wanna help me make some mince pies tonight?’ Jenna asked her daughter as they turned into their road.

‘Okay,’ the girl replied, ‘I didn’t like them though, when we made them last time.’

‘It’s a good job they’re not for you then, isn’t it?’ Jenna said jokily, ‘I was gonna take them into the diner tomorrow to see how they do.’

‘Mince pies,’ Jim repeated as he parked up, ‘Are they the ones with all the fruit in?’

‘Yup,’ Jenna replied.

‘I don’t think I like them either,’ the man said with a shrug, ‘But I’d be willing to sample them.’

‘You can sample _one_ ,’ Jenna said firmly, with a waggle of her index finger, ‘The rest are for the diner.’

She got out of the car and walked round to take Josie out in her car-seat. The toddler was now awake and alert, grinning up at her mother as she carried her into the house.

Jenna was glad she appeared to be in a good mood, as tonight was the first night they were trialling her sharing Lulu’s bedroom.

* * *

‘Lulu, can you cut some stars out of that pastry for me? Use the cutter from the drawer.’

‘Yes, Mama.’

The two bakers were in the kitchen, making a batch of mince pies. Jenna had thought for a couple of years that they ought to try selling more unusual Christmas treats in the diner but had always talked herself out of it; the usual favourites, Warm-to-Your-Toes Whiskey and Walnut, or Christmas Cheery Cherry, had always gone down so well that she’d been loathed to try anything else.

But as a baker, she was always looking for new recipes and new flavour combinations to try out. She, personally, quite liked mince pies. Provided that the pastry wasn’t too soggy, and not overfilled, and the filling itself was the perfect mixture of sweet and tart, they were pretty tasty.

‘Mama, why is it called mincemeat?’ Lulu asked her now, as she carefully cut stars out of a sheet of pastry on the kitchen counter.

‘Good question, Lulu,’ Jenna replied as she beat a couple of eggs together to make a glaze, ‘I think a long time ago, it was made with meat.’

‘But it’s not now?’

‘No, just fruit and spices,’ Jenna said, ‘I think that’s how they used to stop the meat going bad.’

‘Why couldn’t they just put it in the fridge?’

Jenna chuckled, carrying over the bowl of beaten eggs and a jar of mincemeat.

‘This was before they’d even invented fridges,’ she said, kissing the eight-year-old on her forehead.’

The girl’s eyes widened, ‘That _is_ a long time ago.’

‘Yup,’ Jenna agreed, ‘Now, I’ll spoon the mincemeat into each of these pastry cases, and you put the stars on top, okay?’

Lulu nodded, frowning a little. ‘Why can’t I spoon the mincemeat?’

Jenna pursed her lips. ‘Because last time we made these, you put too much in, and it overflowed, and my baking tray hasn’t been the same since.’

The girl bit her lip but giggled.

Mother and daughter then worked together quietly, one spooning in a teaspoonful of mincemeat into each little pastry case, and the other placing a small pastry star on the top. Once all the pies were topped, Jenna went around them with a pastry brush, giving each one a coating of egg-glaze. The finishing touch was a sprinkling of coarse sugar, for an added crunch.

‘They’re looking pretty good, girl!’ she said when they’d finished, ‘Now they just need to bake.’

‘When it’s done, it’s done,’ Lulu recited, watching as her mother slid the tray of pies into the oven.

‘You don’t wanna burn the edges,’ Jenna agreed, patting her on the back.

* * *

‘Okay, how do you do it?’

‘How do I do what?’

‘You’ve made me _like_ mince pies. I thought I hated mince pies.’

‘Um. You’re welcome?’

The parents were sat in the front room, later that evening. Both girls had been put to bed, in the same room, for the first time. Jenna and Jim had spent all the time since sat next to the baby monitor in anticipation, waiting for a commotion. Josie had seemed fairly calm about being put to bed in a different room and had settled quickly. Lulu had sat up in her bed, reading her book and eyeing her sister warily. But since then, everything had been quiet.

‘You think people will like them?’ Jenna asked Jim as he finished his pie, licking each of his fingers in turn.

‘Sure,’ Jim said, ‘But I will absolutely eat any left over at the end of the day.’

‘Thanks for the vote of confidence,’ Jenna retorted, laughing.

After a while, the parents made their way up to bed, pausing outside of Lulu’s bedroom door to hear if anything was going on. But they heard nothing and went into their own bedroom to get ready for sleep.


	21. December 21st

Josie slept soundly in Lulu’s bedroom until around three o’clock in the morning, at which time, she awoke wailing and calling out for her mother. Jenna hauled herself out of bed and padded through to see to her, lifting her out of her crib and holding in her arms. She soon quietened down, her cries dissolving to little hiccups.

‘There now, girl, what was all that fuss about?’ Jenna whispered to her, running a thumb under each of the girls eyes.

The toddler reached to wrap both arms around Jenna’s neck, still sniffling. Jenna shushed her gently, trying to lift her back in her crib but wincing when the girl whimpered and tightened her grip. The mother leaned her head against her daughter’s, humming quietly and swaying from foot to foot, trying to lull her back to sleep.

Lulu had been exactly the same. Jenna recalled now, vividly, how the girl had cried out for her at random times of the night. All she’d had to do was calm her down, get her back to sleep, and put her back in her bed. But sometimes, that didn’t work.

Now, with Josie finally quiet, Jenna lowered her back into her crib, as if she was handling a hand grenade. The baby was settled, her eyes closed, but the second Jenna took her hands away, she woke up again and started crying.

Jenna thudded her forehead against the edge of the crib.

She tried reaching in to run a soothing hand over Josie’s forehead, to no effect.

‘Mama,’ Lulu mumbled from her bed, her voice heavy with sleep.

‘I’m sorry, baby,’ Jenna whispered over to her, lifting Josie back out of the crib and cuddling her against her chest.

Josie, predictably, stopped crying with her mother holding her. Jenna closed her eyes in mild despair.

When her attempts to soothe Lulu as a baby didn’t work, Jenna would take her back to sleep in her own bed with her. But that wasn’t an option today; Josie needed to get used to sleeping in _this_ room.

As the toddler dozed off again, Jenna gently lowered her back into her crib once more, held her there for a few moments to make sure she hadn’t stirred, then moved her hands away.

And Josie woke up, and started crying.

‘ _Mama_ ,’ Lulu muttered.

‘Lulu, I’m trying,’ Jenna whispered hoarsely, leaning an elbow on the crib to rest her chin in her hand, with her other hand reaching down for Josie to hold onto.

Josie needed to sleep in this room. But she didn’t want to stay asleep without her mother nearby. Jenna raised her eyes heavenward; there was only one option.

Carefully, she moved Josie up to one end of the crib, then gripped the edges of it as she braced herself. It was no small task, clambering into a crib in almost complete darkness, but she managed it. Pursing her lips, she lay back on the mattress, bending her knees upwards to fit herself in. Immediately, Josie crawled up to her, lay down and rested her head on her stomach. She brought her little hands up to rest on either side of her head, and fell asleep quickly.

‘Great,’ Jenna whispered, bringing one hand to rest on Josie’s back and the other to rest on her arm.

* * *

When she woke up a few hours later, she was in agony. Her joints ached in protest at being held at awkward angles for so long, and her hands had gone numb. By the looks of it, Josie had slept soundly, her head still resting on Jenna’s stomach. The mother looked at her daughter for a few minutes, taking in the way her blonde eyelashes fluttered a little in her sleep and her button nose twitched. She couldn’t even feel annoyed.

But she needed to move position, so carefully sat up, trying not to disturb Josie. The toddler woke up all the same, but didn’t cry, instead giving her mother a particularly blithe smile.

‘Mama, why are you in Josie’s crib?’ Lulu asked in consternation, sitting up in her bed and rubbing her eyes.

‘It was the only way I could get her to stay asleep,’ Jenna muttered distantly, feeling so exhausted it was like someone else was speaking.

‘She cried a lot last night, huh?’ the eight-year-old said with a sigh, swinging her legs out of bed and getting up.

‘She’ll get used to it,’ Jenna replied, trying to convince herself more than anyone, ‘She will.’

‘Well, good morning,’ came the voice of Jim as he made his way into the room, ‘Party in Lulu’s room, I see?’

‘Take your daughter,’ Jenna said monotonously, lifting Josie up to pass her to Jim

Jim moved Josie over to one hip and looked down at Jenna, who was still sat in the middle of the crib with her knees bent underneath her chest, staring at some point in the middle distance with glazed eyes.

‘You need a hand getting out of the crib?’ he asked her.

‘No. No, I do not,’ Jenna replied without making eye contact.

‘Okay, well,’ Jim hedged, ‘I’ll go and make breakfast.’

‘You do that.’

‘Okay. Um, Lulu? You wanna come help?’

Lulu nodded, putting her slippers and bathrobe on.

‘Mama, are you alright?’ she asked as she passed her.

Jenna nodded, finally making eye contact and managing to smile.

‘I’m just a little tired, girl, I’ll be down in a few minutes.’

Once the other three had gone downstairs to the kitchen, Jenna brought her hands up to her face and groaned inwardly. She then glanced at Lulu’s clock on the wall and saw that she had an hour before she needed to be at work. Once she’d finally clambered out of the crib, she padded back through to her own bedroom and pulled her clothes on.

She decided she’d walk to the diner through the park today. The bridge across the frozen pond in the middle would look so pretty.

And if not, it would at least make her feel more alive.


	22. December 22nd

Sunday morning saw the family all wrapped up and ready to go out on a walk. Jenna was relieved to have been able to stay in her own bed for the previous night; Josie had taken a little while to get settled, but once she was asleep, she stayed that way all night.

Their good fortune was short-lived, however, when the family all bundled into the car and discovered it wouldn’t start.

‘It probably just needs to warm up,’ Jim said with strained optimism as he turned the key in the ignition again.

A shuddering, spluttering sound, then nothing.

‘Jim,’ Jenna said.

‘Just give it a second,’ Jim said brightly, patting the steering wheel as if that would make any difference.

‘Jim,’ Jenna repeated, ‘It’s dead.’

‘It worked _fine_ yesterday,’ Jim muttered, turning the key again but to no avail.

‘Well, it ain’t working fine today,’ Jenna replied, ‘We can take the bus.’

‘Just one more try,’ Jim pleaded, turning the key once more and wincing as the car tried its upmost to get going. But it didn’t, and Jim leant forward to gently thud his forehead against the steering wheel.

‘Right, girls, we’re getting the bus,’ Jenna announced, opening her door and walking round to take Josie out of her car-seat.

* * *

Around twenty minutes later, the family sat on the bench next to the bus stop, huddled together and watching their breath billow out in front of them. Jenna and Jim sat next to each other, Jenna holding Josie on her lap, with Lulu on Jim’s other side.

‘Hey, you remember this bench?’ Jenna asked Jim.

It was on this bench that they’d first really gotten to each other outside of the gynaecologist’s office. Jim had spoken effusively about Jenna’s Mermaid Marshmallow Pie, and Jenna had felt incredibly embarrassed as a result. But, looking back, she could pinpoint that conversation as the start of something real between them.

‘Ah yes, I seem to remember my car wouldn’t start, so I had to take the bus,’ Jim replied with a certain irony in his voice.

‘When’s the bus coming?’ Lulu asked, leaning her chin in her hand and buzzing her lips together.

‘Should be about five minutes,’ Jenna said with a glance at her watch.

‘Hey, Lulu, you know that it was on this very bench that I first fell in love with your mama?’ Jim told the girl.

‘Ew,’ Lulu uttered, thoroughly unimpressed.

‘Hey,’ Jenna admonished, ‘It was very romantic. He talked about trees.’

The two parents laughed at the memory.

‘You’ll understand when you’re older,’ Jim told Lulu sagely, ‘Trees are very romantic.’

The eight-year-old looked at the man as if he’d grown a second head, but giggled and started swinging her legs in an attempt to warm up.

A few quiet minutes past, after which Jenna noticed it getting a little gloomier. Biting her lip, she glanced up at the darkening sky above, and her fears were confirmed when the first few flakes of snow began to fall delicately down.

‘How is it snowing _again_?’ Lulu questioned the grey clouds in dismay, huffing.

‘Sow,’ Josie contributed, pointing at the flakes as they settled on the already snow-covered ground.

‘ _Snow_ , Josie,’ Jenna repeated, wrapping her arms around the toddler’s middle a little tighter.

‘Sow,’ the baby insisted, reaching her hand out to catch it in her mitten-clad hands, giggling as it settled on the tip of her nose.

Jenna looked again at her watch. The bus should have arrived a minute or so before, and there was no sign of it further down the road. She puffed her cheeks out, seeing that the snow was now falling rather more thickly now.

‘This bus isn’t turning up, is it?’ she asked rhetorically, looking up at the slate skies and blinking as the snowflakes touched her eyelashes.

‘Let’s just go home,’ Jim suggested, getting to his feet, ‘I’ve had enough nature for today.’

Jenna agreed with a nod, getting to her feet and moving Josie over to one hip. Then, the family all walked back home again, with Jim providing the entertainment; he showed Lulu how to catch the snowflakes on her tongue, which caused her a great deal of amusement. Jenna watched them both, hitching Josie more securely onto her hip, and grinned. Josie caught onto the game, sticking her little tongue out and catching the snowflakes. She giggled as if it was the most hilarious thing she’d ever experienced.

Once the family were home it was nearer lunch time, so Jenna heated some soup on the stove for them all while Jim tried in vain to contact a mechanic. As they sat around the table to eat the soup (apart from Josie, who managed to get most of it on her bib), she realised that she didn’t even feel disappointed about their unsuccessful day out. It was in the most unplanned moments that they felt most like a family.


	23. December 23rd

‘The car’s running!’ Jim announced the following morning, running into the house.

Jenna and the girls were in the kitchen, getting wrapped up in every item of woollen clothing they owned. They’d decided to try to go on an outing again; there was no new snow forecast for the next few days at least, and Jenna and Jim wanted to try and get out one last time before the chaos of Christmas really took a hold.

‘Okay, girls, let’s go,’ Jenna said now, scooping up Josie and gently ushering Lulu through the house and out the front door.

They all bundled into the car, silently crossing their fingers in hopes that it would stay running long enough to get them to and from the park just out of town. Jenna had wanted to take Josie ever since she was born, for she’d taken Lulu when she’d been the same age, but had never quite got around to it. It was a huge, national park, with tall pine trees and winding woodland walks. Jenna knew it would look especially beautiful today, with a blanket of snow, and grinned as Jim pulled away from the side of the road and set off.

It came as something of a relief to the family as they drove towards the highway, that the clouds were slowly parting to reveal pale blue sky. They were also pleasantly surprised to see the sun peeking through, gentle and golden, and making the snow glitter.

‘It’s hard to feel too annoyed about snow when it’s so pretty,’ Jenna said quietly, gazing out of the window.

‘Mm,’ Jim hummed, ‘Just gonna hope it doesn’t do my car in.’

Jenna sucked air through her teeth and shrugged.

‘If Jim’s car breaks down, are we gonna have to walk all the way back home?’ Lulu asked in dismay.

‘Thanks for the vote of confidence,’ Jim quipped, before patting the steering wheel and whispering, ‘Don’t listen to her, Betty.’

‘ _Betty_?’ Jenna repeated in consternation, ‘You named your car?’

‘The last two letters of the license plate are a B and a T,’ Jim said defensively, ‘Obviously she’s called Betty.’

Jenna giggled.

‘Well, far be it from me to come between a man and his car,’ she said, holding her hands up.

‘We’ve got something real, ya know?’ Jim said, playing along, ‘It’s been a magical eight years.’

‘Hey, that’s my age!’ Lulu contributed happily.

As Jim turned off the highway onto a winding country track towards the park, the car engine revved a little as it started the gentle ascent.

‘That sounded healthy,’ Jenna said with heavy sarcasm.

‘Come on, Betty, you can do it,’ Jim pleaded, gripping the steering wheel.

The car shuddered in protest, but eventually dragged itself to the top of the road and further on to the parking lot for the park.

‘Betty better get us home again, Jim Pomatter,’ Jenna whispered warningly as the family all got out of the car.

‘She will,’ Jim said, sounding as if he was trying to convince himself as much as he was her.

* * *

After a two-hour walk around the park, through pine trees and down snow-covered slopes (Jenna almost wished they’d thought to bring a sled with them), the family all got back to the car.

Jenna decided to take the pressure off Jim as he tried to get Betty going again, and walked over with Lulu and Josie to the little café at one edge of the pine forest. She bought four hot chocolates, requested that they make one with mostly cold milk, and gave Lulu two to carry, keeping hold of two herself. Josie was perfectly contented toddling around on the gravel, squatting down to pat the snow on top of the little tufts of grass.

‘Come on, Jo-Jo,’ Jenna cooed at her, letting her walk in front of her back towards the car.

Josie had liked the park as much as Jenna hoped she would. She’d been happy enough to toddle around and explore, picking up the pine needles scattered on the ground and handing them straight to her mother to look after. Jenna remembered vividly how Lulu had been exactly the same, and the memory made her smile.

‘Do you think Jim got Betty started?’ the eight-year-old asked her now, sipping her hot chocolate.

Jenna strained to hear any sounds of an engine running in the quiet of the parking lot. She could see Jim stood at the front end of the car, having opened the hood, and scratching his head. This wasn’t immediately a good sign.

‘Any luck?’ she asked Jim as they approached him, already knowing the answer.

‘I’m working on her,’ Jim assured her immediately, ‘I reckon I can get her going.’

He shut the hood and got back in the driver’s side, turning the key in the ignition. His eyes were closed, and his lips were moving, almost as he was praying. Jenna felt her sink further down into her boots with each half-hearted splutter of the engine as it tried to spring into life.

‘Betty’s broken, isn’t she?’ Lulu asked mournfully, bowing her head.

‘It looks that way,’ Jenna agreed, sipping her hot chocolate.

But when Jim turned the key in the ignition one last time, there was more coughing and spluttering from the engine, but eventually it started running.

‘Yes! I _knew_ she could do it. Bring it home, Betty,’ Jim cheered, pumping his fist in the air, ‘Everyone get in!’

Jenna lifted Josie into her car seat and fastened her seatbelt for her. After making sure Lulu had fastened herself in properly, she got into the front passenger seat next to Jim and sighed.

‘Do you think the time has come for Betty to go to the big garage in the sky?’ she asked Jim.

‘Let’s just get home,’ Jim conceded.

‘That’s if Betty even gets us home,’ Jenna muttered.

‘Hey,’ Jim admonished, waggling a finger at her, ‘Don’t talk bad about my woman.’

Jenna giggled, holding her hands up in surrender.


	24. December 24th

It was approaching midnight on Christmas Eve when Jenna and Jim finally collapsed on the sofa in the front room, having wrapped every present and slotted them under the tree. The girls had been put to bed (or rather, in Lulu’s case, man-handled) over an hour before, and now the house was quiet.

Josie had seemed rather oblivious about the whole thing, blinking sleepily as her mother showed her stocking to her. Her older sister, however, had been beside herself, bouncing up and down on her bed and yelling her excitement.

‘Lulu, carry on hollering like that and Santa won’t come,’ Jenna had warned the girl as she gave Josie her sippy-cup.

The eight-year-old finally sat down in her bed and pulled the covers up to her chin, but Jenna could still see her practically vibrating with anticipation.

‘Do you think Santa will like the cookies we made him?’ she asked, ‘I left him the best ones.’

‘I’m sure he will,’ Jenna assured her, grinning knowingly as she lay Josie down in her crib.

Lulu lay down in bed and snuggled down happily, screwing her eyes shut.

‘Good night, girls,’ Jenna whispered as she switched the light off and crept out of the room.

‘Night, Mama,’ said Lulu.

‘Na-night,’ cooed Josie.

And now, Jenna and Jim sat together on the sofa, looking at the plate of cookies and glass of milk by the fireplace across the room.

‘At what time is it appropriate to eat those cookies?’ Jim asked.

Jenna smiled, glancing at her watch. Two minutes to midnight.

‘I’d say we wait till Christmas Day,’ she replied.

‘Deal,’ Jim agreed, jiggling his legs.

They’d pinned the stockings above the fireplace. Josie’s on the end, with Lulu’s next to it; she’d wanted to keep her old one after all, so the new one they’d bought went next to it, for Mustard (who was, as always, curled up in front of the fire). Next to her on the sofa, Jenna had three canvas bags of gifts, including new building blocks for Josie, new colouring pencils for Lulu, and a little stuffed rat toy for the cat. There were also little bags of chocolate, candy canes, hair ties and bookmarks.

The presents under the tree were rather more substantial, and firmly from Jenna and Jim rather than “Santa Claus”. Lulu had gathered rather too many books now to fit just on her night stand, so she was getting a brand-new set of bookshelves to go in her room. Josie, having taken a recent interest in building things, was getting a new set of Mega Bloks. Jenna had bought Jim a new sweater, as his old, favourite one was now threadbare on the sleeves and no longer as effective as it could be in providing any warmth.

As for what Jenna was receiving from Jim, she didn’t know; he wouldn’t even give her a clue.

‘Well,’ she whispered, looking down at her watch, ‘Merry Christmas.’

‘Merry Christmas,’ Jim replied, kissing her, ‘Can we eat the cookies now?’

Jenna chuckled, nodding.

The pair of them padded over to sit cross legged on the floor, next to their little midnight feast. Mustard immediately crawled onto Jim’s lap, curling up tightly and purring.

‘Is there anything we’ve forgotten to do?’ Jim asked through a mouthful of cookie, stroking Mustard between his ears.

Jenna narrowed her eyes as she thought, taking a bite out of her cookie. Lulu was right, these were the best of the bunch; slightly chewy on the inside, and crisp on the outside, with the ideal ratio of dough to chocolate chip. Jenna looked at the stockings above; those needed filling. She looked at Lulu’s stocking, with the little elves scattered across it.

‘We’ve not moved the elf,’ she said.

‘Elf on the shelf?’ Jim clarified, swallowing his mouthful.

‘Yup. Let’s see,’ Jenna said quietly as she thought.

She had some leftover dough from making the mince pies. Perhaps she could scatter some flour in the kitchen, over the worktop. Make some little footprints in it.

‘I’ve got it,’ she said, nodding and getting up to fetch the elf from its current position of mischief: the top of the Christmas tree (that morning, the girls had come downstairs to find some of the decorations on the floor, and named the elf as the culprit).

‘You take care of the stockings,’ she instructed Jim, ‘I’ll take care of the elf.’

‘Right you are,’ Jim agreed, taking a gulp of the milk and getting to his feet.

Jenna grasped the elf in both hands and carried it through to the kitchen. Once there, she fetched the dough from the fridge and unwrapped the plastic wrap it was encased in. Then, she got the flour out of the pantry cupboard and scattered a handful or so across one of the worktops. She slapped the dough down on top of it, getting a rolling pin out of the drawer and flattening it a little. She left the rolling pin on top of it, then scattered more flour next to the dough and used the elf’s feet to make prints. Then, she had a moment of inspiration, and scattered yet more flour along the workstation. Lying the elf down on its back, she moved its arms and legs up and down so it made a “flour” angel.

‘Good work, Nelson,’ Jenna muttered to herself as she worked, ‘It’s not as if you’re gonna have to clean all this flour up in the morning.’

Jim wandered in a few moments later, with Mustard in his arms. He placed the kitten by his bed and stepped up next to Jenna, surveying her handiwork.

‘Lulu’s gonna love it,’ he said, pressing a kiss to Jenna’s temple.

‘I hope so,’ Jenna said, smiling, ‘I know we don’t have many more years before she stops believing in all this stuff, you know? I want to make it special.’

She sighed quietly, suddenly struck with the thought.

Jim wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

‘That girl’s never gonna stop believing in magic with a mom like you,’ he whispered.

She turned to him then, feeling tears scratch at the back of her eyes.

‘You’re such a sap,’ she said, giggling and sniffing sharply.

‘You just wait until you see the present I’ve got for you,’ Jim said, and Jenna swore she saw his eye twinkle, ‘You don’t know the half of it.’

‘ _Please_ can I have a clue?’ she whined, bringing her hands up to rest on his shoulders.

He twisted his mouth as he gave the matter thought.

‘Alright. It’s a vacation somewhere,’ he admitted.

‘Oooh,’ Jenna whispered, ‘What kind of a vacation?’

Jim shrugged.

‘All I will say, is that you might find it… enlightening,’ he said, throwing her a wink.

‘Huh,’ Jenna said, nodding, trying to work out what on earth he meant.

‘You’ll find out tomorrow, my love,’ the man said, kissing her forehead, ‘Let’s go to bed.’

‘Okay,’ Jenna conceded, quickly washing her hands at the sink before following him out of the kitchen and upstairs to their bedroom.

As they crept past the girls’ bedroom, they listened out for any sounds of disturbance. But all was quiet, and the parents tiptoed into their own bedroom, hand in hand. They got into bed, cuddled up together under the covers, and whispered sleepily to each other about all the things they were going to do the next day.

‘Merry Christmas, Jenna,’ Jim mumbled, barely awake.

‘Merry Christmas, Jim.’

Jenna had never been overly fond of the season, for it didn’t boast a great many happy memories from her childhood. But as she felt her eyelids grow heavy, with the man she loved already snoring softly next to her, and two children asleep next door who were going to be _elated_ in the morning, she grew even more sure that this was what it was all about.

This was the real magic of Christmas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this was a bit of fun, wasn't it?
> 
> Thank you for coming along on this little challenge with me; I am sincerely regretting my life choices as I thought I'd try and make a coherent story-line with each prompt (thank you @groolover) interwoven into it, which turned out to be VERY HARD.
> 
> I do hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> Merry Christmas,  
> Laura xx
> 
> P.S. Where do you think Jim is taking Jenna on vacation?


End file.
